The Story Hands
by Delia Anole
Summary: It all started with a meeting... Adele planned on a normal life, she wasn't an important girl. Until the day she met a prisoner who taught her a powerful skill. Now she possesses an extraordinary gift, one that she didn't want. Can she cope with it?
1. Prologue

**Hey! This is only my second chapter story... But, I think you will enjoy it! Must say, I had my Beta peer over this chapter for grammar. She fixed it and then EVERYTHING went wrong! I had to do a ton of work! I don't know why, but the computer decided to destroy it. Any grammar issues may be revealed to me, I won't be angry!**

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The Story Hands

Prologue

_They threw open the doors of my house. _

She ran faster than she thought was humanly possible for someone her age.

_They accused me of being a witch or a sorceress._

The old woman's legs carried her to the large forest that was near the side of town. Her dark cloak billowing in the wind behind her.

_They chased me from my home._

She raced through the village, aiming herself for the trees ahead; people on the sidelines shouting cheers to those following the elderly woman. She was careful to keep the dark cloak pulled to her forehead, allowing it to cast a shadow over her eyes.

_Now, they chase me with spears! Ready to kill me!_

Behind the fleeing woman, a crowd of soldiers and villagers raced. Their angry shouts rising into the darkening sky. The sun was falling, slipping away.

_I never did anything wrong…_

"Get back here, you dirty witch!" A soldier's outraged voice echoed from behind the woman. Cries similar accompanied his voice into the air.

Adrenaline pumped through her bulbous veins, allowing her the impossible speed. Allowing her the rage that built up inside. Her fists whitened as she gripped her cloak tighter.

Her cracked, dry lips opened again and again. They demanded more air, yet never supplied enough for her body to be content. Her knees ached with the effort of running.

_I am the last descendant of my people. They will not kill me!_

Through the forest she ran, the pack of people never far behind.

The trees thinned out, her legs carrying her to their final destination, though she didn't know it.

The woman had never been to this part of the country before. She hadn't a clue where to go; following the path deep into a valley-like area. Finally, rocky cliffs rose up on either side of her.

She ran on. Until… Until her life source, the path she had been fleeing on, came to a stop. A large cliff rose up in front of it, severing the windy trail from anymore travels.

_I have no where to run._

Cliffs on all sides but one, that side being occupied by furious people, she turned to face her assailants. Their faces glittering with venomous delight.

_They have such horrible hatred towards me. Yet, they do not know me. They do not know who I am._

"End of the line, scum!" One soldier stepped from the crowd, disgust evident upon his aged face. "I cannot wait to see your execution."

The old woman stared at them, all traces of youth from her run having vanished. She had no energy left, no hope. She forced her cloak to shield her face from their hatred.

_But I will fight to the end._

She stepped forward. Surprisingly, every villager retreated a step. They muttered fearfully to their selves.

Frustration welled up in her stomach, "Cowards!" The crowd watched with fearful disgust as she continued, "You all fear me. Yet, you wish to destroy me. Make up your minds! Attack or retreat?"

_I know these are dangerous words. I'll end up aggravating one of them… And then it will all be over. But, I have to try!_

When no one in the crowd stirred, she continued. "Good. Then, I suppose I will be leaving."

_Will they let me by? _

At first, all appeared to allow her steps in their direction.

Until the same brave soldier boldly attacked her. He shoved her, hard, into the mountainous wall. "You aren't getting away from us," his voice hissed, striking fear into the elder's heart.

"I haven't done anything wrong!"

The soldier's powerful hands ripped the fabric of her clothes. They moved to her cloak, jerking it off. He tossed it aside and looked at her eyes in disgust. "I knew it. I knew you were the witch."

He flung her forward, the woman clutching the skirts of her dress in fear, her eyes revealed to the crowd.

A gasp arose over the stunned villagers. "I knew it!"

"The violet eyes of all witches!"

"She must be burned!"

"Kill her! She needs to die! Do not allow this tyrant to frolic among us!"

The old woman lowered her gaze, feeling defeat seep into her soul.

_They have seen my eye-color. They shall never except my real identity._

The soldier had released one of her shoulders, allowing her a freedom of her arm. She stared at her hand solemnly.

_There is only one way to get out of this. I only have one chance._

Suddenly she lunged at the older soldier. She spun her body around and slammed into his. He was shoved up against the wall, though he fought to get his original grip on her.

"You are only making things worse!" He screamed, "Your death will be more painful the more you fight -"

Elderly, boney fingers reached at his face. Her index finger managed to just barely swipe his eye, silencing both the man's voice and his efforts. She leaned forward pressing her free hand onto his eye.

Instantly the man drew in a breath, his body stiffened.

"Calm yourself," the woman whispered, "for you are in _my _world now."

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**I really really hope you liked it! I beg that you review! I need to know if this is worth my time! Thanks!**


	2. The Young Maid

**As you all may have noticed, I have decided to make the other chapter my prologue. This will now be the official chapter one.**

**Ran into alot of glitches on FF. Had to rewrite alot of the story because of it. Grammar issues are my own idioticness (heh, that is a word!), not my darling Beta's.**

**Special thanks to Backroads, Frostypoop, and Viola Alfiere for being the first to review!**

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The Story Hands

Chapter 1

_Morning. The worst time of day._

Adele shoved herself up from her tiny bed. The structure was made of wood on the bottom, the top being several ragged blankets thrown together for comfort.

Her body was agonizingly stiff after another long night of miserable sleep. She glanced quickly towards the wooden window in her tiny bedroom. The sun was preparing to begin it's daily voyage.

_It is almost light out. I'm late. Again._

She sighed, and shoved herself towards her closet. Throwing on her torn maid's dress, she began her day.

Adele made her way down to the kitchen, a long task, for the castle was a massive place. Her room was in the servant's quarters, on the top level, so she had to walk five stair cases down, follow many different hallway routes, and sometimes slip through hidden passages just to reach the level that the kitchen was on.

_I remember how confusing this castle used to be..._

That day was so long ago, though, it had seemed as if she had been living a different life. As though she had never been the confused orphan girl that she once was. _Though, I still am an orphan… _

But Adele despised thinking of these things. She much preferred doing her daily tasks with the mindlessness that all people have when working. When she drained her mind of anything besides work, things went much more smoothly.

Upon her entry to the kitchen, a voice cried out at her, "Adele! Late again, I see." Mildred, the head chef, eyed Adele with a frustrated glance."What would you do without this job?"

Not caring to listen to the lecture, Adele grabbed one of the plates of food waiting to be served and headed towards the kitchen's exit. "I wouldn't have to put up with your mouth, that's for sure," she called as she abandoned the room.

Her own stomach grumbled hungrily, but she ignored the pains.

_What would I do without my job?_

She shuddered at the thought of being cold and alone on the streets. Again.

Her legs were weary with the effort of walking by the time she reached the princess' room. It was a lot of exercise to travel around the castle, especially on an empty stomach.

With a gentle push to the door, Adele entered the room.

Light had already begun to shower into the bedroom, a fact that Adele hoped nobody would notice. She tip-toed to the side of the massive, intricately decorated bed.

Four poles carved into beautiful flowers shot up to the ceiling. Curtains draped and wrapped themselves majestically around the bed, creating a tent-like atmosphere. Carefully pushing the curtains aside, Adele peered into the large space.

"Ah, so you finally decided to show up." A voice murmured from the depthsof the bed.

"Well, I figured it would be a nice idea to pay you a visit sometime."Cocking her head to the side, Adele added, "Come now, you can't still be depressed over the earl's behavior, can you?"

Suddenly, mountains of large, soft sheets flew upward. Adele sprang aside to protect the plate of food in her hands. From this eruption emerged the princess.

_As beautiful as ever, curse her_.

She had hair as gloriously golden as the sunlight that bathed the land, pulled back in a pony tail that had the appearance of a rippling water as it fell majestically down to her hips. Her skin was a beautiful creamy white, and her eyes a velvet green. She had just the right amount of hips and chest.

_Curse her!_

Adele always did feel average, but this feeling was nothing compared to when she was around the beautiful princess. She felt as invisible as the air itself, like a droplet of water in the ocean. Nothing extraordinary, nothing worth a thought.

_Considering that I'm her lady's maid, I'm almost always around her. _

Adele's own body was far too skinny to be considered beautiful. She was much too tanned, freckly, and her hair was a common and ugly brown. Her eyes shared the same qualities.

The young royalty's voice called Adele back into the current world. "That earl is such an imbecile, the nastiest of men! Of course I won't be marrying him, what a fool!"

"Oh, stop it." Adele always spoke openly to the young lady, "I thought you were smart enough to know that all men are fools. Now, eat your breakfast…Or shall I have to feed you like a baby?"

Claudia, the princess, sighed and removed the plate from Adele's hands."You need to get me ready for today. I plan to wear my green dress with the purple bows. Also, get my purple hair ties. And I want my hair up in a -"

Adele crossed her arms, a scowl across her face, "Would you stop putting on false airs? I mean, who died and made you Queen?"

Claudia snorted, "So my mother hasn't passed. But, she says I need to learn to command servants better. You could at least make things easier for me."

"Now, where's the fun in that?" Adele walked over to the massive closet, _larger than my bedroom, _she thought wistfully, and fished out the desired dress.

After Claudia finished her breakfast, the dressing began. Clothes were slipped on, and then they moved on to the hair part. Adele had become quite the stylist in her years with the princess and could easily create beautiful fashions with the princess' hair. All the while, Claudia would talk about all of the activities of the kingdom. Adele always felt a great sense of sadness when her friend spoke of these events, knowing that a lowly servant like herself would never witness these extravagances.

"I hear that the Duchess of Wilolws has finally recovered from her husband's death. It took her long enough."

"People are just so much more foolish than you, o glorious princess. They're all too stupid to understand that they shouldn't mourn over deaths of their partners. Only if a horrific, but extremely handsome, Earl wishes to wed you, can you be upset."

Claudia sighed. "Someone is in a sarcastic mood today."

"How can I help it? All you do is gossip about fools, and their foolish business. What are the chances I'll ever meet them? Why should I care?"

"Because you work for me!" Claudia's voice rose impatiently, "And whatever I speak about, you must listen to!"

Pausing her work on the golden hair, Adele did an overly extravagant curtsy and announced, "I apologize greatly for trying to instill a sense of selfworth onto you. I'm sure there are no greater people than yourself, and that the world revolves around you."

"Oh, shut up."

"How very noble of you to say such a thing." Adele, examining the lookingglass, noticed Claudia roll her eyes.

_I really am testing her patience._

There was a moment of silence between the two, finally forcing Adele to give in, "Alright, alright. I'll listen to you talk of your foolish poppycock wordlessly."

"No, never mind that. We may speak of something far more interesting." She still sounded a tad bit bitter, but Adele was sure she would loose her rage soon enough.

"Talking about growing grass would be more interesting than what the Duchess of whatever is doing."

"You said you would listen!" Claudia snapped in frustration, "I suppose I shouldn't expect you to keep your promises! How many days have you been late now?"

Adele shrugged. "What was the 'interesting' thing you wished to speak of?"

Claudia's tone lightened instantly, "The witch! She has finally been captured!"

Adele's fluent fingers paused, "Witch?"

"Oh! I never told you?" Claudia laughed, "This freaky old woman had been living in the peasant village near here! She had… Oh, what color were her eyes? …Violet...? Lavender? I'm not sure. But, they say it is a sure sign of being a witch."

Adele could sense something suspicious about the idea, "Who's they?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Claudia shrugged, but was quick to continue, "Anyway, she has been captured! It was a long chase though. She managed to imprison the minds of several of our soldiers and some of the peasants. They are still lost in the trance she put them in."

"Why is this all so… Unbelievable?"

Claudia shook her head defiantly, disrupting the work on her hair, "No! It is all completely true!"

"I know, as well as you do, how foolish peasants can be. They all want to be able to have a glimpse of the Monarch, so they make up ridiculous stories. Just so they can get a peek of you!"

"You cannot possibly mean to say that it's my fault this woman is a witch, can you?"

"I can say anything I want." Adele sniffed, "But, no, I'm not saying that. I believe that there is more to this… Someone should find out."

"Why?" Confusion and annoyance echoed in Claudia's voice.

"What if the villagers are lying! Eye color doesn't describe being a witch or not!" Adele's voice rose with passion, her eyes flaring with disgust. "People are far too judgemental these days!"

"Oh, who cares?" Upon that statement, Claudia's hair was finished. Along withthe dressing routine. "As usual, my maid, you have done a brilliant job!"

Adele's response was flat, "Thank you, your highness. I'm humbled by your flattering gratitude."

Ignoring Adele's sarcasm, Claudia bolted upward. "I have to go! Your late antics will make me late! My father is probabaly expecting me!" She turned to glance at Adele, "I'm giving you the rest of today off! Well, except for tonight. I'll need you to undress me and such." She paused, deciding to add something, "And please don't go anywhere near that witch. You're a little _too_ interested in her. You understand?" Without waiting for a reply, she hurried to her bedroom door, "Have fun!"

Adele was left staring after the beautiful princess. _The witch was captured. Something tells me that the villagers were too quick to judge. I think I'll just pay a visit to the prisons today. Certainly not to get the woman's side of the matters, though._

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I love a character with a strong sense of sarcasm! Fun to write, fun to read… Heh… Anyway, I'm sure they are also fun to review! Go on, find out!

**Also, I have a new Beta for this chapter… The lovely… Viola Alfiere! Her words can sting a bit, but in the end she is EXCELLENT at making chapters better. And she explains stuff… Really great at making people better writers! **


	3. Encountering the Witch

**Finally. This chapter was exhausting to finish. Wrote it, gave to Beta, Beta said alot of things needed to be fixed, fixed things, downloaded it and... Fan fiction HATES me! GAAGH! Once again, it screwed with the spacing and thoughts. Once again, I must ask you forgive any mistakes. They are not Viola's fault.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed, and to Iliana 11 and Backroads for having such amazing reviews that made me want to continue! Also, Viola Alfiere, thanks for betaing!**

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The Story Hands

Chapter 2

_This place is beautiful._

The land that Claudia's parents ruled, Raydolia, stretched out for miles and endless miles before the servant's exit.

Adele stared at the vast lands. Flowers had begun to wither away, seeping into a crispy brown death. The Sherylwood Forest was seen in the far distance, it's treacherous darkness cloaking many secrets. Not even in the time of fall did it lose any of it's eerie shadows. The closer forest, Enchantment, lay nestled beside the castle, almost touching the walls. Leaves of the bright trees had faded into an array of luxurious autumn colors: orange, red, yellow, tan, and some brown.

As Adele began her walk to the prisoner's quarters, her feet crunched on the newly fallen leaves. Withering grass seemed to accept the shattered remains of the leaves, holding them in between their shriveling roots until the crisp breeze brushed the remains away.

Adele couldn't help but shudder at thought of the breeze. Winter was soon to arrive; the time of indoor games for all royalty.

_Which means extra work for all of us servants. Fun._

Adele couldn't help feeling bitter, the poor working endlessly… so the rich could slack off and drink themselves silly.

_No one said life was fair. And if some fool did, they were wrong._

Swallowing her feelings of contempt, Adele weaved through several of the paths leading to the prison. The grounds near the castle were just as much a maze as the castle itself. The unnecessary paths had been created for war strategy, or so one of the soldier's had said. Adele had no concept of battle strategy, and she never planned on having such a skill. In her opinion, it was a waste of time.

Following the twisted routes, Adele arrived in front of the prison. It's walls rose menacingly up into the bright sky, tower after tower meeting equally in the air. She approached the cold, saddening brown door and waited.

It wasn't long until a soldier noticed her, walked towards her, and spoke briefly with her. He demanded to know her business of being there, and after an explanation that she was visiting family, allowed Adele entry into the dark gloom before her.

The young maid hated to think of the happenings inside of the building, tremors of terror shot up her body whenever she did. Sometimes, if one listened hard enough, it was said that a person could hear the screams of prisoners from deep within the walls. In addition, there were plenty of rumors of ghosts, goblins, and any other creepy creature a bored peasant could create in their head.

_But that's all they are. Bored peasants with fake stories._

Renewed in her beliefs, Adele turned her gaze back to the soldier. She felt calmer now, her voice seemed to reveal this. "I wish to see the… The new arrival."

The guard shrugged. "We have many new arrivals. Who is it you want?"

"The new woman…?" She couldn't help that her voice was questioning, after all, she didn't know the woman's name.

_He has to believe I am her family. I need to do this correctly and carefully._

"Woman? Ah, the witch. Not willing to produce personal information on her, eh?" The guard narrowed his eyes and asked in an accusing tone, "You do know her, right?"

"O-of course!" Adele cried out, doing her best to sound indignant. "Why wouldn't I?"

The guard shrugged. "Alright. But, what is her name?"

_Drat, I had to get a guard who actually does his job!_

"You're the one who mentioned me not wishing to give away personal information. What if you are correct?"

"I take it I am." He sighed, "She won't give away anything about herself either." His gaze turned cold. "You are probably both witches." With a sigh, he added, "But I suppose it doesn't matter, so long as you are not caught. Come along, then."

They walked through one dark hallway after another. Prisoners moaned from their cells, some reaching out gnarled hands, pleading for food or money. Many were ill.

_No wonder royalty isn't allowed in here, _Adele thought as she eyed a dying man through bars, _none of the guards would be employed if they saw this mess. I'll have to report this to Claud - _

"AAGHHH!" Adele had wandered to close to one of the cells, and a horrifyingly bruised, knobby hand had grabbed her shoulder. "Get off of me!" she cried, trying to shake away the revolting body part.

The guard quickly slammed his sword into the fingers, and blood spurted from the wound. Pale blood, pale like the rest of the place. His violent trick worked, the cold grip was gone instantly.

Shaking, Adele followed the uncaring guard further into the dark shadows.

The man halted suddenly, running a hand through his mangled beard, and staring through the bars. He turned malicious eyes to Adele. "She put anyone who entered her chambers in her curse. If you wish to speak to her, you have to go inside of the cell with her." He grinned, revealing several missing teeth. "I won't be helping you if she attacks." After a moments pause, he finally added, "Well? Are you still one of her relatives? Are you still going to visit her?"

"How dare you accuse me of lying!" Adele snapped, quick to cover her lie. "Of course I'm related to her!" Before she thought about his warning, she added, "Now, let me in!"

The guard, slightly surprised, unlocked the door and ushered Adele into the dark cell. She heard squeaking as the door shut behind her.

_Did he really allow other people in here? Were… Were they really… Taken in her spell?_

Suddenly, the impulsive girl wasn't so sure she had made the correct decision.

A voice, old as the castle itself, whispered from a black corner. "Greetings," it cracked, like the voice hadn't seen water in days. Like the rusty bolts in the door behind her.

_Poor thing._

"Do not pity me." The effort it took for her to speak wasn't the only thing that unnerved Adele.

"Err.. How… How did you know that?" She managed to squeak, her throat closing itself up.

"You are interesting," the old woman observed, ignoring Adele's question, "You have no hatred, as the others. Sit."

Nervous to do anything but what the woman wanted, Adele slowly shrunk to the floor. The elder's voice murmured, "Why are you here?"

Fiddling with a strand of her hair, Adele slowly attempted to draw up her usual courage.

_I'm only afraid of the surroundings. I am not afraid of this woman. Most definitely not afraid of her._

"If you are not afraid of me, why do I see you shaking?"

Adele jumped and her stomach lurched.

_There is my confidence! Gone!_

"H-how did -"

"Calm yourself. I cannot read your mind, but I can read your face, and it happens to be very expressive."

Doubting the words, Adele tried to find the woman in the darkness, "I find that very disbelieving. There is such a lack of natural light that… You couldn't possibly see my face."

"I have been in here for many days. One's eyes adjust, I suppose." Adele heard the sound of rustling fabric as the woman moved into a more comfortable position, "My name is Felicity."

A long pause. Adele managed to convince herself that she had not only walked into a death trap, but that she had doomed everyone she knew as well. Why she got this feeling, she had no idea.

"It is rude not to introduce yourself when you hear an introduction."

"Oh… Adele!" Embarrassed by how fast the words had spewed out, she managed to continue, "I-I'm Adele." Fear had managed to claw through her bones, chilling her, and making her stutter. She took in a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. _This is absolutely ridiculous! Why am I so afraid of a little old woman?_

"Do calm down. I wish for a normal conversation. I won't hurt you." Was that amusement in her voice?

"Okay…" At a loss for words, Adele allowed the woman to hold the conversation.

"I'm going to die in two days." Grief intertwined with a strange cheerfulness that resonated in her voice. "I'm looking for someone. They must be found before then."

Finally calming down, Adele spoke up, "Oh, and who is that?" Of course, Adele hardly cared. It was better to focus on the conversation, than her own fear though.

The rustling of fabric was heard once again, the woman had probably shrugged, "I do not know. I have ways of knowing though."

"Okay… I'm sort of confused… What do you mean? Why are you telling me this?"

"I make little sense, I am aware. Never mind that, do tell me about yourself."

"What's there to know? I'm in a prison, visiting a woman who seems to be partially insane. I can't possibly be interesting." Adele couldn't help but realize how the words she had spoken contradicted herself. She sighed.

A weird sound echoed through the walls of the cell. Adele could only explain it as a form of laughter. "You are an amusing child! Why have you come here?"

"I wanted to see if you were… A witch. The peasants tend to overreact."

Felicity twitched in the darkness, "Yes, they do. Well, I am glad that you didn't trust the rumors. Those things are such dreadful liars."

"A bizarre way of putting a rumor." Adele shrugged, about to continue until she was cut off.

"Would you like to go on an adventure?" Instead of the old, worn down voice, the woman seemed to regain excitement and delight. Strength soared through her tone as she leaned forward, finally coming into Adele's vision.

_How can I deny a request that is so excited…?_

The conversation was very fast paced, Adele had no idea of what she had said that had made the woman think up this plan. Besides that, how would they go on an adventure? Felicity was in prison! "Sure... Why not?"

Her garments rustled again as Felicity pulled herself an arm's length away from Adele. "Are you ready?" She was really getting giddy now.

"Uh… Alright." Adele snatched a deep breath, her lungs swelling with the disgusting prison air, and continued, "I am ready."

The old woman leaned forward, her hands reaching out and pressing against Adele's eyes.

A sensation of tingles swept through the young maid, her body grew numb. She couldn't even bring herself to speak as her vision swam before her, and slowly things began to grow black.

_What's happening to me?_

And then, her mind, too, became numb of all thoughts**. **

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**Ah-hem. Just out of curiousity... And a love for reviews... Tell me what you think Felicity has done. I'd like to see all of your thoughts!**


	4. People in a Mountain

**What do I have to say for myself…? I've been gone… A very long time. I know. I gave this to my beta like a month ago… And… Well… She got it back to me… But, I had to do a lot of things to make it better in her eyes.**

**It's been awhile, so here is a rewind: **

**Woman (later revealed to be Felicity) is chased by a mob. She is captured, and our main character Adele goes and visits her. Against the orders of Claudia, the princess. We left off with Felicity placing her hands on Adele's eyes… DUN DUN DUN!**

The Story Hands

Chapter 3

_And then, then, I was in darkness. Complete darkness. I felt a bit tingly, and I was really confused. But scared? Hardly..._

When Adele's mind had managed to regain itself, she felt a cold breeze almost knock her over. Her stomach lurched, still a bit queasy from whatever Felicity had done to her..

_But what did happen?_

The breeze seemed to calm down, caressing her face.

_It's such a nice breeze. Usually, we only get breeze's like this in the Spring -_

Adele's eyes flew open. _I was in a prison cell! Natural light couldn't get in, let alone wind! _She found herself staring at large sloping mountains all around her. She seemed to be standing in a valley, greenery blossoming from all angles. Pine trees shot upward to the sun. Oaks and willows lazily twirled in the breeze beside berry bushes, lilacs, lilys, and many others. The sound of a river could be heard in the distance.

_How did I get here? Am I dreaming? I have to be!_

"Oh, good! You made the trip in one piece." Felicity's voice rose over the wind, happier than it had been before. "I do enjoy the mountains," She took in a large breath of air, "much better compared to the rancid stink of the prison."

Adele stared at the old woman in horror. "How are you in _my _dream?" Accusation rang through her voice, and she couldn't help but doubt her judgment before. _Perhaps she is a witch…_

Felicity, still in possession of the bizarre laugh, started a hysterical fit.

"Stop it!" Adele cried out, facing the woman in a rage, "This isn't funny! Where the heck are we?"

A few guffaws later, Felicity responded, "Adele, do calm down. You will make the locals nervous."

Suddenly Adele became suspicious of her surroundings. _Locals? How… I've never dreamed anything about locals...? My mind couldn't have made something like that up! No… _She drew in a deep breath, _It must have. This is just a weird dream. Everything will be okay when I wake up. _

A hand grabbed Adele's wrist, "Come on," Felicity's voice echoed in the valley, "We have to hurry! The Story Hand Tribe are waiting for you!"

"…_What?_" Adele shook her head, just as she shook herself free of the loose grasp the old woman had on her, "What are you talking about? This is MY dream! I don't have to do anything with you!"

"No time to explain." Felicity, seeming not to have heard Adele, only snatched her wrist again and tugged the young maid through the valley. "They will be very pleased to meet you! They have been waiting for a very long time, you know. You should have come earlier."

"I should have what?" Frustration unleashed itself through her voice, though she didn't fight Felicity's grip. She certainly did not wish to be left alone here. Even if it was a just a dream.

She was pulled into a long sloping trail, trees towering above her head, their massive branches swaying in the breeze. In the grounds below them, little animals chattered. Flowers bloomed happily, joyfully excepting the small amount of sunlight they received, considering they were tucked under the trees. Nestled away in the shade.

Above them, Adele could see a bright sun, showering all she saw in sunlight.

_But how…? That is impossible! This looks like a summer sun! We're in _fall!Taking in a deep breath, Adele gave herself a conclusion that was acceptable for the moment, _Just a dream. This is nothing but a dream. _Oddly, she only slightly excepted this answer to her confusion, doubting any of her opinions at the moment.

Felicity continued to drag her upon the trail, until they had walked at least a mile. Adele was tiring, being a ladies maid meant that she didn't have to do this much physical exercise. Surprisingly, Felicity seemed to be growing more energetic with each passing step.

"No dream should take this long to get somewhere," Adele muttered under her breath. This was a perfectly logical thought, but she was quick to try and dismiss it, after all, it went against her answers.

"Dream?" Amusement and delight were released in that one word, she seemed to be getting happier with every step as well. "You cannot seriously think this is a dream. Have you ever had such a detailed dream?"

With a roll of her eyes, Adele hissed, "I see no details! This is _just _like a normal dream!" _I am not lying to myself! _She knew, somewhere in the back of her head, that she was getting irritable because Felicity was dissolving her conclusion. But, she forced this knowledge from her brain.

"Look at that tree over there." Felicity's voice was a very aggravating calm, "Every branch has pine needles on them. Look at each pine needle. Some are older, more brown, than others, while some are a new and lively green. There are the longer, older ones. Several bugs can be seen upon these." Taking in a triumphant breath, she continued, "Tell me, are these not details…?"

Adele thought about this. Never before had she had such details in any of her dreams. She had never seen vegitation in any of her dreams before anyways. But, the sounds, the sights, everything was so... Impossible for a dream.

Embarrassed at how easily she had been disproved, Adele refused to respond. The two walked on the seemingly continuous path for a little while more. Though, to Adele, it felt like an eternity.

They found themselves winding around yet another hill, but the moment it had been done, a strange sight revealed itself. Adele found herself staring up ahead the path's ending. A large village, the only words she could describe it as, lay ahead.

The houses were made of sticks, or what looked to be sticks. For ceilings they had a variety of greenery; grasses, leaves, branches. Mud caked the houses, _perhaps it holds the houses together…?_

Her voice was breathless with fascination as Adele spoke, "What is this place? Where are we?"

"All in good time, will these answers come, dear." She sounded horribly giddy.

As they came closer, villagers became visible. They were horrifying, terrifying, and fascinating. All at the same time. For clothes, they all had a variety of grasses and leaves. Their lower half, this included men _and_ women, were covered by long grass that fell to their knees!

This went against all of Adele's upbringing! Woman should be covered all of the time, by as many garments as they could. Seeing an ankle was both horrifying and considerably blasphemous.

For tops, Adele shuddered at the sight, woman had a large tree branch that had been warped to wrap around their shoulders. Hanging in tied knots all of the way down, were more grasses and leaves. Men wore _nothing_ on there upper half.

Slight color began to arise into Adele's cheeks, and she avoided looking at these shameless people. It was Felicity's voice that dragged her out of her personal horror zone.

"I am one of them." Such calmness unleashed itself through these words. It seemed so impossible, so horrifying.

Shaking, Adele stopped walking, "You're one of them?" Terror and panic sprang from her own voice, "You are one of those disgusting blas-"

"Stop your judging." Anger shot from her voice, "You sound like the biggest hypocrite I have ever met!" Felicity stopped walking and faced Adele. Her wrinkles had warped into angry lines, her eyes flashed with hatred, "You sounded different from the other peasants! You sounded like you were the one I needed! You are a _liar! _You've already judged these people, yet, you do not know them! They wear strange clothes, they must be sinful, is that what you think? No! You gave them no chance." She stepped closer to Adele, reaching out her hands. "I was wrong about you." Her voice quivered in disgust as she tried to press her hands on Adele's face.

Backing away from the old woman, Adele stumbled over a root that had not been behind her foot before. "Calm down! I said one thing! You have no right to yell at me. You say I'm the one judging, what of you? You jumped on my throat like a crazed dog starving for food just now." Drawing in a breath to calm herself, and straightening her posture, she continued, "You are the hypocrite. Not I."

They stared at each other for another eternity, in Adele's mind anyway. Their eyes locked in a combat, determined to defeat the other.

Finally, Felicity's voice filled the air around them. "So I am." Sadness tinged the depths of her mournful tone, her eyes were weary and tired. "I have lived among your people for far too long." She turned herself back to the strange houses and people. "You have pointed out my wrongs, hopefully you realize your own."

Adele didn't bother to speak to the woman of the subject, she was beyond sick of it. Instead she announced, "Who… Or what are these people?"

The answer was as confusing as everything else in this 'dream.' "The Story Hands Tribe."

**Thanks for reading this! I'm hoping that your reviews will pump me up for this again!**

**I'm REALLY sorry though! Oh, Backroads… YOU ARE AMAZING! You gave me one of the best reviews I have ever had for last chapter! THANK-YOU!**


	5. A Destiny Revealed

The Story Hands

Chapter 4

_As Felicity and I came closer to the tribe people, I couldn't help but feel afraid. Who knows what these people are capable of? _

Light blossomed brightly in the sky, as the travelers approached the 'Story Hand Tribe.' Grass crunched underneath Adele's brown, deteriorating boots, her hair blowing slightly in the wind. Everything implied that all would be well, usually weather could predict such conditions… And yet the prejudices Adele possessed prevented her from believing the weather.

Felicity's gait was bouncy, her delight evident even in her walking. Adele thought this impossible for an older person; but she looked like a kid in a candy shop. Doing her best to watch the older woman, and not the scandalous tribe people, she hissed, "Fe-Felicity… This isn't exactly…" She couldn't resist a quick glance at them, "…They aren't exactly… Umm… Dangerous, right?" As her words were spoken, Adele felt her heart race.

The older woman chuckled, her violet eyes twinkling, "I should hope not. If that was the case, you could certainly blame me for having the misfortune of you being dragged here, and placed in danger."

Adele scowled, and turned her attention towards the greenery. This land truly did possess a beauty she had never seen before in her life. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but worry. _I wonder if it was a mistake to come here… If Claudia knew… _She drew in a breath, her body erecting itself, _No. I made the decision, and I shan't worry what anyone else thinks or says about it._

All too soon, the duo reached the top of the hill; they reached the home of The Story Hand Tribe. The horrendous people gathered around the newcomers, whispering, chanting, shouting, laughing…

Cowering beside Felicity and averting her eyes, Adele listened as Felicity spoke aloud, her voice cracked with age.

"Where is Modrain?" She sounded intense, her voice filling the tribe, her eyes hard.

Every person slowly, rhythmically, raised solemn hands and pointed towards a mud plastered hut. It was the largest of the other huts, towering above them; though, not majestically. A muddy structure could hardly be a glorious sight.

Felicity, grabbing Adele, shouldered her way through the crowd, not pausing to greet anyone. Though, they all seemed to know the old woman's name. Adele couldn't help but wonder at how bizarre this fact was.

While being dragged, the youth had finally gave up the idea of this nonsense being a dream. For it was far to implausible to possibly think the experience a dream any more. _So, what is it?_

She hardly had time to ponder this question, for Adele, dragged by Felicity, was being forced through the grassy, and rather itchy, entrance into the hut.

The inside was more of a surprise than anything else in this place. Somehow, and rather whimsically, the ceiling seemed to be around fifty feet in the air! The room was a massive, round structure. The floor, though slightly dusty, was plastered with stone tiles; these decorated in an elegant, and aged, pattern. In the precise center of the room, stood a pillar. The pillar only rose about five feet in the air, and sitting upon it was a luxurious purple stone. Steps, with a marble gloss to them, arose all around it… Leading up to the pillar, and providing easy access to the stone.

Beside this sight, stood a man. The man was dressed as all of the others, half naked, to poor Adele's horror. Though, he had an array of raven feathers that rested atop his head; almost forming the shape of a crown.

"Modrain." Felicity sounded extremely serious, and she approached the man. She did something like a curtsy, and then continued speaking. "I have brought the one you requested."

The Raven Man, as Adele decided to nick-name him, turned towards her. He did a sweeping glance, and then resumed looking at Felicity as he spoke. "She hardly seems capable of what needs to be done. Are you sure this is the one?"

Responding in great respect, Felicity nodded, "Yes. None of the other villagers were even worth a passing glance." She gave an irritated look towards Adele before continuing, "Though she is stubborn and has much to learn. I suggest that you give her all of the abilities immediately."

Adele was content to listen, understanding that she would get farther in understanding her surroundings if she did. Modrain responded in disapproval to Felicity's statement, "That hardly seems logical."

"I can already tell that this girl will learn her lessons in no other way but the hard one." Adele felt a bubble of fury rise up, but she swallowed it and listened in good humor to the rest of the conversation.

"Then I shall trust your decision." He examined Felicity coldly, "I certainly hope, for your sake and the girl's, that this works." Not waiting for a response, he turned and directly addressed Adele. "Come here."

Adele responded, in a frosty confidence she was amazed to have, "I do not do bidding for anyone but myself." She smiled and added, "Although I shall compromise. You must tell me what is going on in order for me to do such a thing."

Modrain sighed, and cast an understanding gaze at Felicity, before continuing. "As you wish." He gave her a devious smile, and continued, "You are not an ordinary peasant anymore. No, you have a heroic future ahead of you."

"I did not ask for descriptions of my future, I _want _to know what is happening here . Stop beating around the bush!" Adele hardly believed what he was saying. She was an ordinary peasant, nothing more, nothing less. She did know that she was in a strange place, knowing why was far more important than improbable thoughts.

Modrain, with a slight smile, responded, "Once again, as you wish. I am sure you are aware that you are currently in The Story Hand Tribe -"

"Of course!" Her patience was far from plenty; Adele only wanted Modrain to explain what was going on. It couldn't be that hard.

The strange man shook his head in disapproval, "I demand your respect, in payment for my answers." Adele was silent, and, taking this as a silent agreement, Modrain continued, "Several generations ago, Raydolia went into a war with another country. This country went by the name of Aspolsh. As you may know, your country won…" the Raven Man sighed as he murmured, "The blood-shed part. I'm afraid to say… the war is far from over."

Trying to process this information, Adele whispered, "That doesn't make any sense though. This was so long ago! We have settled peace with their people already! Why bring this up now?"

Modrain's next words were disturbing. "It is a false peace, faked by a series of corrupt leaders. Already, they plot the demise of your country."

Doing her best to both believe the man and understand, Adele questioned him, "How? What could they do to us besides make another war? If they do that, we are highly capable of defeating them." Of course, she hardly knew what she was talking about, but Adele, being a strong hearted personality, didn't care. She would believe herself unless proven wrong.

Modrain shook his head. "So _you _say. And so _they _know. But their people are of a grudging, vengeful race. They plot to destroy you… And they know exactly how to do it."

Entranced by the story, so Adele perceived it as one, she whispered, "How…?" At the same time, she was still unable to fully believe anything the man spoke.

Wasting no time in continuing, the strange man's voice continued, "Long ago, all of the countries in this part of the world united -"

"This is the only part of the world!"

Modrain shook his head and grinned, "So young, so foolish. Anyway, the countries united together and tried to form an alliance to claim the rest of the world as their own. They were highly intelligent, and quite possibly would have been able to do so. Until, that is, a hero arose to save the world from their hungry claws…" He drew in a breath, examined the transfixed face of Adele and continued, "He relied on an ancient myth, that of the Power Creatures, and used them to defeat the countries in the wrong."

Adele blinked, and cocked her head to the side, "What is the myth of the… Power Creatures?"

Looking overwhelmed, and irritated, Modrain snapped, "Never mind! I do not have enough time to tell you things you should already know!" Composing himself, he continued his explanation. "Today, members of the Aspolsh society, aided by the monarch, have begun to search for the Awakening Caves. Each cave summons a different Power Creature," Modrain playfully added, "Although you _should _already know that."

It was several moments before Adele spoke again. Her mind, racing with chaotic thoughts, slowly began to consider what was to happen. _There is no way that this could be possible! It's so… Unfathomable… _And so, in the end, she decided that the whole story was unbelievable, and the man was a liar.

"Let's pretend I _do _believe your 'story…'" Adele announced, "What would I be able to do about this…situation?"

Refusing to comment on the maid's disbelief, Modrain responded, "That is the part where you need to come here. Immediately."

Rolling her eyes, Adele decided to play along, though she was unsure as to why she was willing to do so. Perhaps, she longed to believe it… To believe she was the only help. Perhaps, she longed for more of this attention. She did live a lonely life.

She walked until she stood beside Felicity and Modrain, "Okay. I've done that. Now what?" Making her voice sound indifferent, Adele examined the sages.

Felicity surprisingly jumped in, not allowing Modrain's answer, "I'll take it from here, sir." Turning to the teenager, she announced, "Alright, are you absolutely sure that you are willing to take on the burden of your people?"

Adele shrugged, amusing herself with playing along, "Of course. I am very greatly obliged to do this task."

Once again, the sarcasm was ignored, as Felicity continued. "Do you believe yourself ready to hold the power, the skills, of The Story Hand Tribe?"

"Sure." Adele's lack of enthusiasm and concern was evident, but she hardly cared.

Moldrain whispered, for Felicity's ears alone, "She isn't ready! If she isn't who we are looking for, the stone will _kill _her!"

Felicity shrugged, and continued, "Then place both of your hands upon the stone and receive your power."

_Well, they have been nice to me. And, this certainly was an entertaining experience. Most unlike my daily chores; I may as well humor them._

Adele reached out her hands, slowly, carefully… The moment they touched the cool and glassy surface of the stone, a blinding light burst throughout the room. Adele cried out, her voice mingling with the light, her scream echoing into the blinded space.

As the light faded, Adele's legs crippled beneath her. She shrunk to the floor.

* * *

**So, thanks to Iliana11! Comments: I just started a forum... In the Fairy Tale section (what else). It's called The Untold Fairy Tales. It's story telling, not talking. We can all learn to write better together! So, go check it out! You may have fun!**

**Review please! They feed the hands that type this tale.**


	6. Violet Vision

**WAAGH! I'm sorry! I've really been writing a lot, just not THIS story. Now that I have an FP account, I'm doing my best to keep it alive. I also have my weekly chains of update for my other story on FF and my friend forced me to write a different fic… This was just the easiest to toss aside…**

**Last time: Chapter ended with Adele having leaned forward and touched the stone that Modrain and Felicity so longed her too. Thinking it foolish, and only having done it to humor them, she was startled when she fainted to the ground. Will she survive? *cough cough how can a heroine die? ***

**Here you go!**

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The Story Hands

Chapter 5

_Swirling colors, aching pain, a throbbing in my hands… Lights flashing… Dark… Light… Faces of everyone I know! What's happening to me?_

Adele slowly opened her eyes, still in the same strange mud house. Her gaze searched her surroundings, and she muttered, "Still this place…" She moaned as a severe pain stretched across her back, "Ugh… What is wrong with me? What even happened?"

Dizziness attacked her head, and she clutched it tightly. Low groans of pain escaped her lips, and she shuddered as though struck by a sudden cold.

It took a moment, but she finally realized what had happened to her. _I touched that wretched stone, just like they asked, and look where I am! _She sat up, and slowly rose to a stand. _I must have fallen…_

Adele's whole body quivered, she felt a strange mixture of numbness and great pain. Shaking her head, she turned and stared, rather fiercely, at Felicity and Modrain.

"Wh-What did you do to me?" She wailed, her eyes widened in horror.

Felicity took a nervous step forward, she drew in a breath and whispered, "Welcome, hero. You are going to save us all!" She seemed to be breathing heavily and she whimpered, "I didn't honestly think she was the one! I-I have fulfilled my mission, then…"Modrain hurried to the old woman's side, and snatched her shoulders just as her legs crippled, giving away and collapsing. This sight was horrifyingly shocking to the already confused Adele. She continued watching as Felicity's head lolled to the side, and her body no longer stirred with breath. She did not fall upon the ground, however, for Modrain held her up.

She had simply died. Right before Adele's eyes.

Adele, terrified, whimpered, "Wh-what just happened to her? Is she…? You know, umm… Did she kick the bucket…?" Of course, this was obvious, but denial was the easiest solution. Adele couldn't help but hope it not be true. The woman was her guide home!

The bizarre man only gave a brief nod of his head. He turned, violet eyes blazing, and murmured, "Your visit is no longer required. I will now send you home." Thoughtfully, he added, "In two days, I shall have one of our own come to retrieve you. Your training will then begin.""Excuse me?" Adele shook her head in a tangent of confusion, "Training? I'm never coming back to this place, first of all! No one you send will get me to do it. Second, I never asked for training… And… You never mentioned any so -"

Modrain had gently laid Felicity's body upon the ground right before he moved over to the confused peasant. His large hands reached outward, slowly placing themselves on Adele's eyes.

"You have no need to remember the appointment. I will do the work for your next arrival." A slight twinkle in his eyes, he added, "By that time, you will be begging for my advice."

"Hold on!" Adele screeched, "I don't beg! Plus, I just told you I'm not -" The same strange sensation of tingles flooded her body. Soon her vision clouded, her thoughts vanished… And then she collapsed into the numb state that had claimed her.

LINE

Darkness overwhelmed her vision once more, even though her eye's were open.

_I suppose I'm back in that prison now…?_ Adele waited for her eyes to adjust to the dimly light cell, and then slowly stood. She had the strangest sensation that everything around her was tinted just slightly different. _A little less brown… A little more purple?_ Shaking her head, Adele decided it was only her imagination. That, and the cruddy lighting in the prison.

The usual moans echoed through the walls of the prison as Adele stiffly walked towards the bars in the front of her cell. She reached out, preparing to touch the metallic surface, when suddenly, her hands began to tingle.

They instantly became beyond itchy, and Adele found herself standing in the middle of the cell scraping away at the palm's of her hands. _Come on, _she thought while gritting her teeth, _stop itching! Just stop! URGGHH! _

From the other side of the cell, the prison guard muttered, "All done?" He chuckled when she didn't respond, "That's what you get, maid. Your curiosity made you loose your mind -"

"What are you talking about?" Adele screeched, her teeth tightly clenched together. "I just can't stop _itching!"_ Suddenly recalling her current position, she lowered her hands and smiled at the man, "But, yes, I am done. I would be happy if you would let me out, _now!_" Behind her back, the absurd scratching continued, just more privately.

Startled, and slightly nervous, he scooted forward and opened up the bars. His eyes slid past Adele, towards the prisoner.

The young maid watched as the guard's eyes became evidently wider. His face paled, and he looked extremely nervous. "You…" He babbled, turning his curious stare towards Adele, and then flashing back to where Felicity was laying, "Her…? How? How did you…?" He sputtered to a stop and ushered Adele out.

"What is wrong with you?" Adele chuckled, "You act like you've never met Felicity before. I thought I was the new comer." Feeling extremely clever, she rose her head defiantly towards the guard, daring him to respond.

And he did, just not in the manner she expected. He was shaking his head while whimpering, "How did you _kill _her?"

At those words, Adele's mind sent her spiraling into memories. She recalled the mountains, the tribe, Modrain, and Felicity collapsing into the claws of death… _I don't believe it! There's no way it can be true… Right…? Felicity cannot be dead… We weren't even here in the prison… It's not possible… Or… Is it?_The prison guard was edging his way into the cell and whispering, "Old witch…? Old witch…? Wake-up…!"

Adele peered around the young man and stared at the elder. She lay in a corner of the cell, crippled and unmoving. Her eyes seemed pasted shut and her sickly pale skin blended with the shadows.

Filled with a sudden feeling of nausea, the young maid whipped around and fled down the countless aisles. She could hear the prisoner's moaning, but they sounded as though they were in a world far away.

Finally, after racing through what seemed like endless halls, she found the main door. Snatching at the handles, and flinging them open, Adele burst through the main doorways.

Light filtered downward and the scenery surrounding her happily wavered in the gentle winds. But… But, it was all wrong! The coloring of everything seemed just a tad more purple, which only added to Adele's nausea.

_If it's not the poor lighting in the prison… Then why… _Straightening her back and gaining resolve Adele muttered, "I'm just not feeling well. Either that, or a cloud has passed over head." Triumphantly, she rose her head to prove her theory. Nervous tingles swept her body as Adele found herself staring at a completely cloudless, blue sky. 'Fine. I'm just a bit ill today. Th-that's all."

It didn't help when her spasms of incredible tingling shot through her hands, _demanding _to be scratched at. Adele obliged, but in a nervous manner. She had no idea what had just happened to her, and was a little afraid to find out.

Okay, a lot afraid. And, deciding that being alone brought to much pondering of that which she could not fathom, Adele began the path home.

Only hours before, the dusted road had seemed happy and delightful. Now, it only struck forth fear because of the slight violet tint to everything.

Adele was breathing when she flew through the doors of the castle, not bothering to speak to any of the guards. She slid down the halls of the castle, walkways, secret passages, until finally reaching her room upon the highest floor. The young maid dropped onto her bed, still rubbing her hands raw with her nails.

She sighed and tiredly closed her eyes. Talking to herself had always helped Adele, and, because she had no fear of looking a fool, or sounding one, she muttered, "There is nothing wrong, Adele. Nothing wrong at all. This itching is a… An allergic reaction to the prisoners! And as for everything seeming so violet… I'm just feeling queasy. I've been working myself too much… I'll just have to tell Claudia that I need a rest."

After half dozing half staring at nothing for several hours, Adele clambered to her feet and examined her tiny room. She had a small closet located right next to her bed, though it could hardly be considered a closet. Just a stick that had been attached from one corner of the room to another. Three dresses draped down from it, their hems lightly brushing the ground. Beside her tiny bed, on the other side, was a small window. The glass on the window was cracked and covered with filthy streaks of dirt. A dresser was the final piece of furniture to finish off her décor. It held two of her most personal items. One was a hand drawn picture of Adele's parents while the other item was an Amethyst ring. It had a deep purple to it, and its beauty was undeniable.

Bored with watching what little there was to watch in the small room, Adele prepared to leave, when something caught her eye. She had been walking past the window, when the young maid had caught a sudden glimpse of herself.

All itchiness forgotten, Adele stumbled towards her window, dumbfounded.

Though her reflection was hardly visible, it gave her a slightly correct view of her face and body. She leaned forward, examining her features.

Her mouth was as lovely as ever, though she never commented on it. It was the only feature she liked about herself though. Her lips were plump, and for some odd reason, were almost a blood red. Her nose would have looked acceptable, for it was a button nose, but it was covered in disgusting freckles and filth. Adele's heart shaped face and high cheek bones did little to please her appearance either… But none of these were the reason she stared into the low class glass of her window.

It was her eyes. Only the day before, Adele had stopped and examined her reflection. She could faintly see her boring brown iris's color, and hadn't been pleased. Now… Now, she found herself facing _violet _eyes. They enhanced her face rather pleasantly, and made her look much prettier than before, but this was beside the point.

"H-how…?" Adele leaned closer to the window, until her nose was pressed against the glass. She carefully laid a finger underneath one of her eyes and whispered, to herself, "How did this happen?"

"Ah-hem. I am ready to be undressed." Irritation flowed from the voice sounding from Adele's doorway, but the young maid was hardly roused by the young princess's voice. She was far too consumed and fascinated by her eyes.

"Ah-hem!" Claudia sounded more wrathful than before, and, as though to emphasis her irritation, she stomped her foot loudly upon the ground. When she received no reaction, again, Claudia growled, "Hello? You work for me, remember? I want you to help me undress _now!_ I mean, gee, I give you _one _day off and now you think you're too good to do anything?"

Absent-mindedly, Adele muttered, "It's not a day off if you still expect me to work." If it was possible, she was leaning even further into the glass of the window.

Annoyed, but with no good response, Claudia changed tactics. "Well, what about me being up in your room at all? How dare _I _have to walk all the way to the servant's quarters! It's such a long hike and it hurts my feet." She pushed out her lip, pouting, though the princess knew Adele was not watching her.

"I can tell _someone _has had a bad day -"

"Well, _someone, _better get to work right now or -"

"-but you shouldn't take out your unnecessary anger on me." Adele shrugged innocently, and turned to face her friend. Yes, they were friends, despite their snippy remarks.

Keeping her eyes fixated on the ground, and making a hair cast a shadow over her forehead and eyes, Adele murmured, "Tell me all about it while I fix your hair."

Distracted from her lecture, Claudia leaned forward slightly, "Is their something wrong, Adele? Why won't you look me in the eyes?"

Turning away, the princess's companion only muttered, "You told me this morning you wanted to treat your servants better. Have them show you more respect, you implied. Well… Allow me to help you with the process. Eye contact is not good, it shows equality of people." In truth, Adele was terrified of allowing anyone, especially Claudia, to see her eyes.

If Felicity had been locked away for violet eyes, then Adele suspected that she would have no different treatment. Besides, it would be obvious what she had done that day… Even after Claudia had demanded she not go.

Dragging Adele away from her nerves, Claudia muttered, "You make everything difficult! Even when you profess to be helping me!" She smiled a little and sighed, "Help me undress, _please_?"

Adele nodded, looking away and hoping her eyes were properly shadowed. "Wait a moment, please. I have a great need to wear a hat suddenly."

Quirking a brow, Claudia grinned, "Okay, fine…You are the weirdest person I know, Adele."

"You have no idea…" The lady's maid responded, turning away. "Just… Just let me find that hat of mine." Masking any nerves she had, Adele hurried towards her dresser. Claudia, for the last Feast Day, had provided her with a very pretty and expansive hat. It had seemed too frilly at first, but the feathers and the fine material had managed to grow on Adele.

"Whatever," Claudia said, sounding a bit more perky. "I just _have _to tell you what the Earle did today."

Laughing, her companion responded, "Oh no! Did the poor man profess his undying love for you? Did he say he would be your knight in shining armor for forever? Or, was he awful enough to have actually tried _talking _to you? What a rotten man."

Scowling with no further words, the princess swept out of the room. She had seemed rather unhappy, but Adele promised she'd make amends later. For now, she really needed to understand what in the world was going on with her eyes.

* * *

**At least I had the decency to make it a long chapter. So, all, how long will Adele be able to keep her eyes a secret? And, do any of you remember what Modrain and Felicity told her about? How she had to save her home land... Gee, how _will_ SHE manage to do that?**

**So, any and all grammatical errors are due too... The fact that I didn't want to wait for a beta. After all, you have all been patient enough! So, I think I deserve some reviews! **


	7. Awkward Conversations

**No apology is possible to explain my long absence. I only hope this will make do for you all… **

**What happened so far: An old woman is scene rushing away from a mob of furious peasants who are shouting about her iniquitous deeds. Later check on her, she is found to be imprisoned. Adele, our heroine, discovers this bizarre news while grooming the hair of Claudia, the princess. Set out to explore this mysterious situation, Adele heads to the prisons. Next thing she knows, she's whisked away to a bizarre mountainous land. The old woman, Felicity, later drops dead as Adele is forced through a bizarre ritual - custom - of the strange people that dwell there. After a not-so grand return home, Adele finds herself in possession of a mysterious pair of violet eyes. **

**Got it? Good!**

* * *

The Story Hands

Chapter 6

_This is just impossible. This cannot be real…_

Adele's fingers shook as she retrieved her large hat - a gift from Claudia - and placed it upon her head. Its massive size was hard to balance, but Adele forced down her annoyance. This was no time to be choosey after all.

Thrusting the hat into the perfect position that offered her visibility but shielded her eyes, Adele set out through the doors. Her feet pattered across stone tiles, the coldness retained in them sending chills through her bones.

Again, she remained unbothered and unaffected. Physically she traveled the castle floors; mentally she could still hear the ululation of the prisoners… Could still smell the glorious mountain air. She simply could not keep up with the vicissitudes of her life.

Her body responded in the only way it could, creating a very drowsy reaction to the situation.

In this mode, Adele entered Claudia's chambers. Doing her best to soothe her employer and friend's ruffled feathers, the young maid smothered on a conciliatory smile. "Sorry about earlier…" Adele's back immediately straightened, pride refusing her to be completely apologetic.

Sullen and grumpy, Claudia looked up from her bed. Her muttered words, followed by an indignant snort, were full of bitter emotions. "You've treated me as a fool. You've failed to respect who I am and my wishes. I find myself waiting upon _my _servants to undress _me!_"

Adele shrugged, though she felt the words grating against her. With the traumas of the day, she could hardly bear with her spoiled friend. All of her attempts to mollify her friend having been forgotten, she grumbled, "Perhaps you wouldn't have to wait if you had ever learned how to do it yourself."

An awkward and grating silence filled the air, both girls glowering at each other. Both refusing to let up on their believes. This bellicose silence declared a war, one that would have surely broke loose unless another ladies maid, Aurelia, hadn't entered the bedroom.

"Your supper," she bowed luxuriously, "my lady." Her voice oozed with demure emotion, and she smiled both innocently and kindly. She had no way of comprehending the thick air around her. But it was this innocence that sent both Adele and Claudia over the verge of emotional sanity.

Adele cracked a smile and then burst into laughter. Her body was wracked with emotion; not laughing at anything in particular, but laughing to ease her tense body of emotions. Claudia's own withdrawn cackles filled the air, until both were guffawing madly. Neither worried of lady-like duties, or of servant - employer relations. They laughed to relieve frustration and stress… Their laughter strengthened their uneasy bridge of friendship; their quixotic laughter filled the air madly, neither attempting to fathom why they laughed.

It took several moments before either could breath properly. Claudia's hand clutched to her chest as she struggled to fill her lungs; Adele leaning against the wall, slowly calming her unsteady chuckles.

In the aftermath, Aurelia could only stare at the strange duo; with another sweeping bow she whispered, sounding frightened, "Does my lady wish me to leave?" She held up the breakfast, desiring the exit but not giving into her wishes.

Claudia's voice, unsteady, gasped, "No - no… I mean, you may leave… If it pleases you…" Composing herself, upon noticing the girls confusion, she smiled with trained ease and nodded her head firmly. "Now give me my food and you may be on your way."

After Adele and Claudia were alone again, eyes connected in confused amusement, Adele spoke quietly. "Alright… This time I am sorry. I've had a… weird day, and just haven't been feeling myself."

Unable to forgive her friend entirely, Claudia muttered, "You seemed as sarcastic as usual, actually." Pulling herself in a more straighter position she gave her friend an emphatic look. "I need you to respect what I say from now on. I need you to respect me."

Adele nodded, "I've never not…" Pausing her words to mentally assure herself that she need not say more on the subject, for she wanted it gone immediately, the young maid spoke again. Her voice was devoid of emotion as she whispered, "Stand up, please, unless you wish to sleep in that gown."

_I don't understand what she means… But I really don't care to understand. I _need _to figure out what's happening to me! I'll fix whatever Claudia wants later._

The undressing was quick and uneventful afterwards. Neither side was capable of wishing a good night and so not even ritualistic good-byes were spoken upon parting.

Adele didn't mind, though. She had far more important matter to attend to. All of which revolved around being in her room and staring at her reflection in her clouded over window.

* * *

Morning brought no new light upon the situation; instead only bringing work. Again Adele and Claudia were sociable, but not divulging much into worrying of the other. Self absorbed, the conversation was uneventful and uncaring… Until departure…

Adele was about to leave the room when the princess, looking away from her looking glass, grinned. "I see you're in another hat mood again. What was that all about anyways?"

Her maid smiled, "Oh - uh - just feel like wearin' a hat… Is all…" Scratching her arm awkwardly, Adele added, "It goes along with your whole respect thing. You got it for me, so I respect _your _style and wear it."

Throwing her hands in the air and standing, Claudia hissed, "Why are you always trying to cause a fight? I didn't do anything but give you something!" Clenching and unclenching her fists, she closed her eyes slowly. A croaked whisper of a sound followed, "Of all the people in this castle, it's you whose respect I want but I feel as though I don't even have your care…"

"Really…?" Adele looked at the ground, face distorted in surprise. "I'd apologize, but, I think I've done to much of that. Rather," choking down her own worries of disease and freak infestation, basically narcissistic worries of herself, the young maid sighed, "what happened yesterday at the meeting? Why are you so upset? It's not like you to say something so open…"

Claudia just shook her head, digging her teeth deep into her lips. Tears started to emerge, and she rushed towards her friend. They locked in a hug while Claudia whimpered, "Father has decided I must marry him!"

"Who? The Earl?"

"Yes…" In her hysterics, Claudia nuzzled herself closer to her friend. Having felt alone and desperate since the meeting, she could hardly hold anymore self control. "That wretched man - of all people! Why? Oh why?"

Quick to analyze, Adele murmured, "Why this Earl, of all people? What can his family possibly benefit yours with?"

Claudia only sighed, prolific tears streaming down her cheeks. "I dunno'- he things thab I neeb ib…!"

"I can't understanding. Stop crying so hard, it's not going to help you…" Adele's attempt to mollify her friend's emotions worked slightly. Claudia sniffed her last, and daintily swiped away her tears.

She stepped back, but, while trying to untangle her arm from Adele, it knocked away the maid's hat. Violet eyes stared into green eyes.

With a gasp, and a quick withdraw from her friend, Claudia growled, "What have you done?"

**

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**

So… For now, that's all you get. I'm sorry this took so long to get up. And it's such a scrawny little scrap of reading, isn't it? Gee, I am sorry…

**So I was experimenting with this chapter… I went for the wordy way, obviously… Did you like it? Is my usual style better?**

**Unbetad… Again… :(**


	8. Becoming Homeless

The Story Hands

Chapter 7

_I thought Claudia was upset with her own problems. Now she sees my eyes and everything has changed… _

The dark thought chilled Adele slightly, as it foretold an emotional scene. The young maid avoided her friend's eyes, slightly worried. She thought about snatching her fallen hat from the ground and returning it to its rightful position but that wouldn't do her any good.

Instead she turned away, examining the door and muttering, "I really haven't done much. In fact, I didn't do anything _that_ wrong."

Claudia, on the other hand, looked horrified. She was shaking her head and breathily whispering, "Didn't that witch – the one from the prison – have violet eyes?" Understanding that she would not be getting any explanation, the furious princess muttered, "You visited her. Specifically against my orders! I told you not to!" Claudia moved towards her bed and dramatically sat upon it, clasping her hands in her lap. She stared at Adele while hissing, "You've disrespected me for the last time! I want you out of this room, out of this castle, and out of my life!" Perhaps it was the heat of the moment that caused these words, or the fear of the unknown – unknown being Felicity, the 'witch' – but either way, Claudia felt the pain of a betrayal. A long line of betrayals finally topped off by this final one.

The young maid stared, in immense confusion, at her lifetime friend. "I-I must have misheard you. Wh-what did you say?"

Ignoring the question, Claudia continued, "Through my whole life you never listened to me. I'd forgive it and move on. It wasn't my concern… As long as I had a friend – and that's what you were. My friend. Or, at least, I thought so."

"Hold on," Adele cried indignantly, "Just because my eye color changed doesn't mean that we're not friends anymore. You've taken this way out of proportion!"

"Have I?" There was an added eerie weight with those simple words. The gentleness that had fallen across the blond girl's face was startling. She stood, pausing to swipe at her dress, as she continued her revelation. "We weren't ever friends, were we? I was just a lousy employer that set up too many rules to follow. You never respected me." She shook her head sadly, her voice was a soft whisper, "Friends always respect each other."

Adele wanted to plead her innocence, wanted to exclaim about the stupidity of this idea, but something stopped her. Of course she respected Claudia, it was absurd to think not. She would only be further insulting the princess if she protested, though. And so, she refused to speak her innocence because of actual respect and understanding for her scorned friend.

Adele had crossed too many lines; broken too many rules in her life. There would be no turning back. _I must try not to be bitter about this, either. She doesn't want to see me… I just need to take what life gives me and accept it as my own fault. I should not have gone yesterday to Felicity._

Adele curtsied, putting in her immense respect and love for her friend in this one action. _I may never see her again. _She stood from her motions and whispered, "I-I am sorry, truly and deeply sorry." Seeing no remorse or forgiveness in Claudia's features, she retrieved her fallen hat and turned, walking towards the door. Glancing over her shoulder, she whispered, "Thank-you for… everything." There was nothing more she could say.

* * *

Adele had never felt the shock of what little possessions she had until she stood out front of the castle with a small carriage filled with only several items. An assigned coachman sat at the front with a beaten down horse. The impatient man looked over his shoulder irritably and growled, "Are you planning on leaving any time soon?"

Adele had stopped, examining her home – or, at least, the closest thing she had ever had to a home. The luxurious castle seemed to crown the horizon, its spiraling towers shooting towards the sky. Molded bricks, the result of years of work and master craftsmanship, aligned the exterior walls. It was a thrilling and terrifying sight – it always had been.

She recalled her first arrival to this place. Being a young and scared seven year old child, older servants had to lug her around for many days until she was unafraid to roam the dark chambers and intricate hallways within the castle. She recalled her first fearful thoughts as she was brought inside – to the only life she had ever known.

"Miss, are you listening? You should be grateful that the Princess allowed you my service into the surrounding village. Now, are you going to take advantage of this opportunity? I'd be perfectly happy leaving you behind and -"

"No," Adele's voice was quiet, full of the nostalgia of a time that now seemed long ago, "No. I'm coming." She turned, to face the coachman with a blotchy and red countenance; a greasy and repulsive beard dangled from his chin, which swished back and forth as he spoke. Eyeing this beard, the young girl spoke, in her usual confident manner, "I should certainly not wish to miss out on Claudia's hospitality. Though, I'm sure she is paying you to help me; not threaten me. You had better be certain you are doing your job properly."

He only responded with a scowl, "Try living by your advice. All of us servants know why you were knocked off of the pay list."

"Good," Adele declared as she mounted her carriage, "I shan't want them all confused as to my absence. Rumors would start, and we all know how troublesome those can be." Life felt as though it was rushing by. First the strange 'dream' that had turned real, her eyes, and now this. It was hardly enough to swallow. In fact, she felt her throat tighten as the carriage road away. Life was getting harder, suddenly.

_Just try to think of it as a new escapade, Adele. _Closing her eyes, the young x-maid allowed tears to flow out of her eyes and down her cheeks; her violet eyes that had changed her life forever.

**

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**

I want to thank all of my lovely readers - first, for putting up with me; second, for finding something to enjoy about TSH; and third for continuously reading.

**I've decided to do the tradition of commenting to my reader's reviews in the actual chapter releases. I've seen this idea and I really think it's a great way to clarify and allow readers to think more in depth!**

**Backroads: I was kind of worried that the laughing scene would be out of place and ill accepted by readers. I'm really glad you commented on it! Now, I'm wondering on your thoughts of this chapter. You, of all of my readers, have held a great joy in Adele and Claudia's relationship since the beginning. Do you think it was just the fierceness of the moment that pulled them apart? **

**EstrangeloEdessa: Yes, they are the **_**best **_**of friends. Do you still think that? The laughing fit was touching, and bonded them. But the idea of a fearful witch may just tear them apart. **

**clueless c: I was worried that sudden transition might agitate you guys, but I thought it was pretty funny, too. Women can be so temperamental; I thought it would be a good hidden joke! Glad you caught it, and actually laughed! I, again, highlighted the ways of women with the dramatic change of Claudia and Adele's relationship in this chapter. **

**Thanks again to all readers, reviewers… And to those who favorited this story!**


	9. Faith, Trust, Butterfly Wings

**Hey. So, no grammar corrections. Heh. Just be happy and read! ;D**

* * *

The Story Hands

Chapter 8

_I've never had to go through the village before. It's a strange place, full of… strange people… I don't know if I'll ever get along._

Shuddering slightly, Adele clutched the shoulders of her dress and eyed the villagers – who were on all sides of her. They walked, laughed, and worked all around. This was a connection between people she had seldom experienced in her lifetime.

Of course, it wasn't in her nature to be a recluse. If anything, she had always been confined to the castle. Claudia had constantly required her, and besides, she had a room, food, and all necessities before her. Now Adele found herself in an unknown world.

The coachman tugged fiercely at the reins, muttering to himself as the horse took several moments to come to a complete stop. Turning, his blotchy red face smirking, he announced, "Welcome to the rest of your life. Fascinating place, aint' it?"

Adele glanced around – unable to absorb all that was before her. Besides the busy people, the city was full of small shack-like buildings. Straw crowned the top of these structures, while bricks – similar to the castle's, but poorly made – adorned the sides of the walls. Paths were only visible because they contained no cluttered items, shops, stores, or trash. All along the sides of these dusty paths were scattered items and grimy people.

Biting her lip, Adele stood, and leapt off of the carriage. She gazed all around her, unable to stop. _I could always go back to the castle. Plead how sorry I am and beg for forgiveness. This place is just… Not good! I cannot live _here!

"Yup, you've got a grand life to look forward to. Good-luck at it… Unless you have a desire to return to the castle, of course. I'm leaving soon. Are you taking the opportunity or not?" His words were laced with mockery and amusement.

Nervously, Adele retrieved her bag of items. It contained several dresses, some bedding, a few other personal items, and enough food for two more days. Slinging it over her shoulder, she glanced towards the greasy faced coachman, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not inclined to remove any more of your time from you. Go back into the confining chains of the castle." Taking in a deep breath she continued, "I am free!"

Adele watched as the repulsive man turned his horse and rode off, towards the distant and small castle beyond several hills. Turning on her heels, the homeless girl examined her surroundings some more. This time, she began to calculate what people may be helpful and what places she could find work at.

She wandered the streets until the sun had reached its height in the sky, golden light blazing down and showering the cluttered village.

Adele stopped at an old woman, who reminded her faintly of Felicity, which had dropped a bag of food. Leaning down she helped retrieve the items. "I can't imagine how troublesome it must be for you to cart around this bag. Would you wish for me to carry it to your home?" Adele clutched the slightest of hopes; perhaps this woman would befriend her and help her.

But instead, a sour voice responded, "I need none of your help!" Smacking away Adele's offered hands, she rambled, "Young folk think they can get anything they want by pretending to be kind creatures. Only in the old days did anyone care for anyone else; not no more, though."

Startled, Adele stood and stepped backwards. "I-I was only trying to help!" She felt the weight of being homeless and the dangers of no work fill her mind. Frustration unleashed itself as she growled, "You are being absolutely incompetent! I offered you free help and you stubbornly refuse! What's your problem?"

"I don't have to put up with you," she puffed her chest, giving her the appearance of an over cocky rooster, she continued, "Do you know what I have done for this village?"

"Irritated innocent people with your rotten attitude would be my first guess."

"You hardly seem innocent," the old woman muttered. Offended and wounded, she attempted to regain some of her pride as she answered her own question though, "But allow me to help your lack of memory. It was _I _who campaigned for less taxing of the people. It was _I _who risked my life debating the issue with the King himself. I can safely say that you owe me much of the money you saved over the years."

"Good for you." Adele allowed a flatness to seep into her voice. Continuing, she stated, "Without you, I would have had a much better day, though. What you did, people will forget anyways. You should worry more about how you treat us all." Pushing her hat a little lower over her face, to cast a larger shadow over her eyes, she nodded, "_Good _day."

With those words, Adele shoved through the crowds. She bit her lip hard as she wondered about her situation. _Are all people like that woman? I'm never going to find a job if they are… I need to be social though. It'll be the only way I find a place to stay._

More wanderings placed her on the edge of the village. The Sherylwood forest stretched out far in the distance in both directions. It hugged the final buildings before all land gave way to its massive trees. The sun, almost to sunset, shined plentiful golden light all over the lands.

Adele scratched at her hands nervously. She was filled with memories of the day before as she did this; suddenly finding she couldn't stop thinking about that day or stop scratching her hands.

_Felicity was entirely different from that woman I encountered. She did mention how judgmental people could be – and that woman was very judgmental. Though I'm not so sure I can believe Felicity. That man, Modrain, and Felicity rambled about the quirkiest ideas. What did they say? That Aspolsh would take over Raydolia using the Power Creatures. _She was rubbing her skin raw with her constant scratching, though her distracted mind didn't notice, _and somehow _I'm _supposed to help. Those people have no idea what they are talking about. That's all there is to it. And, besides, _glancing up towards the sky she continued her thought, _I absolutely have to find somewhere to stay. I don't' have time for these impossible ideas._

Out near the beginning of the forest, several children were dancing, singing, and frolicking. They're carefree voices carried as a sweet sound to the miserable ears of Adele. She watched them, longing to feel sheltered and a sense of belonging as she knew they did.

Unable to stop herself, she approached the group. She kept several feet in between them as Adele plopped on the ground, allowing exhaustion to set in over her tired body. Her eyes followed a boy, who wore a green hat with a red feather in it, race around. "All it takes to fly is faith and trust and… Butterfly wings!" He was shouting to his companions. "That's what we need!"

A small little girl with curly pigtails shook her head. Removing a wet thumb from her mouth she bluntly announced, "That's stupid and doesn't make any sense. The grown-ups won't think we're very smart with a play about flying."

The boy shrugged bitterly and growled, "I don't see _you _thinking anything better. 'Sides, I like the idea. We could fly around and fight pirates! That'd be a great story!"

"No way," the girl ululated. "I want something romantic… Like – like a Royal Knight rescuing a girl that is imprisoned in a tower!"

"Eeew!" The boy screeched, shaking his head in ultimate disgust. "Swords and fighting would be way cooler!"

Adele paused, considering the ideas. Before she could stop herself, she heard herself saying, "Why not have a Flying Pirate save the Princess that's imprisoned? He could fight something scary like a dragon, or something." She scratched her hand, considering her own idea and allowing herself to be drawn into the world of children. It was alot better than her life, anyways.

The whole group of children turned towards her. Several who hadn't participated in the idea war muttered to themselves. It was the boy with the green hat who shook his head. "No, that's poppycock! The pirates are _always _the bad guys!"

"'Sides," the pig-tail girl spoke confidently, "No princess would want to be rescued by a Pirate! That's gross!"

Adele laughed, feeling accepted, she couldn't help but continue the conversation. "Alright, fine. How about we have an evil Pirate steal a Princess and lock her away in a… not a tower… that doesn't seem right for a Pirate. How about an island?" Seeing the children nodding encouraged her idea as she thoughtfully continued, "Yeah, and the only way to get to the island is to fly! And the only way to fly is with faith, trust, and…"

"Butterfly wings?" The boy with a green-hat spoke hopefully – his eyes shining in excitement.

"No." Adele shook her head, "That doesn't seem right. How about," Her eyes light up as she recalled stories about whimsical creatures that walked the earth undiscovered by humans. "Unicorn horns? No, no…"

"Fairy wings!" Green-hat boy called, obviously excited by the idea.

"Fairy's are good, aren't they? We don't want to take their wings. That would be a terrible way to gain wings of our own, don't you think. No… We need something magical to make it happen. What about…"

"Fairy dust?" The boy who spoke was a freckle-faced red head who seemed very shy. His blue eyes looked hopefully at Adele. He quietly added, "I heard that fairies have dust that they release as they fly. So…"

"I like it," Adele nodded, "But something doesn't sound right about fairy dust. I think it would be cooler if we called it Pixie Dust."

"So," always the one to sound like a leader, the green-hat boy summed up the ideas. "It takes faith, trust, and pixie dust to save the girl from an evil pirate imprisoning her on an island that can only be reached by flying!"

Forgeting her situation, Adele's whole mind became wrapped around the perfect story. The only worry allowed in her mind for the moment was how the play could be better. "That sounds about right…" The teenager muttered while shaking her head slightly, "But maybe the knight should start on the island. That way we can make it a magical place where he has access to pixies, so he can get the dust. He could have a bunch of people he's leader of too! Like, maybe people who got lost on the island… We could call them the Lost People! And they help rescue the girl!"'

"A problem, though." The pig-tail girl announced, as usual, blunt as ever. "Where is the girl captured at?"

"Maybe," Adele found relief flood her mind. This creative brainstorming released her from the frustrations of her life. She felt apart of something, and it was thrilling. "Maybe she isn't captured at all. Maybe the Knight takes her there. Yeah, what if he was looking for someone to be Queen over the island! All of the Lost People could be men… They could be called Lost Men!"

"Ew!" Again, green-hat boy shook his head. "That means the whole play would be romance and gooey girl stuff!" His eyes lit-up, "Let's have them be called Lost Boys, and make them all kids, like us!"

The children howled in agreement, enough to force Adele to agree as well. Leaping on the idea, she continued, "Okay, okay. Lost Boys wouldn't want a Queen… They'd want a…"

"A mother!" Pig-tail girl grinned, "I guess that'll be okay. It's not as cool as a rescued princess, but a mother who can nag all of the boys and stuff…"

"Gotcha'. But we do need something girly for you girls…" She examined the three girls in the group thoughtfully… "We could have the leader be loved by all girls. A bunch of magical creatures on the island, that are girls, could all love him and want to marry him. He could be like the handsome prince of the island." Seeing delight on the girls face, she saw equally matched hatred on all of the boys. Adding another thought she murmured, "But, the leader could just not notice this stuff. And, if he did, he wouldn't care."

"Fine, I guess that's okay." The green-hat boy muttered in annoyance. "So, what about the boy stuff?"

Adele grinned, "An evil pirate, who could be an adult, always wants to destroy the leader and be in power. He could have a crew… And there could be lots of fights between the leader and the pirate."

"Let's give the leader a name." Pig-tail girl looked thoughtfully ahead of her, "What about something artsy like Sir Alex…?"

"No! He's gonna' be a fun boy and have a fun name, like me! In fact," green-hat boy was onto something, his voice spoke with more excitement than ever before, "In fact I want his name to be Peter! Just like mine!"

"Ugh… No girl would ever wanna' marry _you _though." Pig-tail girl seemed to give up though, and she instead looked at one of the nearby houses. "I have to go. Mommy and Pa will be 'spectin' me. Bye!" Waving, she turned and shot of. Several other children muttered that they should leave, and vanished into houses.

Realizing that the sun was beginning to set, Adele sighed. She eyed the ground and fiddled with some grass. "You all probabaly need to leave, huh?" If all of the children left, she didn't know what she would do. _It'll be lonely, but I suppose I could spend the night out here. _Scratching at her hand, she glanced up at Peter, "You really should be on your way. It's getting dark."

Peter was the only one left now. All of the other children had realized their hunger and hurried away for supper. But the small boy skipped to Adele's side and held out a hand to her. His pink nose, pink from the cold, sniffed a little and he wiped at it with his free arm. "Come on! You should go to your home too! Get up!" It was an act of friendship and acceptance, which made Adele laugh.

"I'm gonna' stay here for a bit…" Pausing, she had a slight idea. "Wait! Do you know anywhere I could stay?"

Peter paused, thinking, and then got a huge grin that covered most of his face. "Come with me! Ma and Pa won't mind! They're nice people!" Let's go!"

"Oh – ugh no… I couldn't. Besides, that would be wrong just to intrude –"

Peter grabbed her arm and attempted to tug her up. "You're coming, so don't protest! I'll tell Pa about you, if you don't come. Then he'll have to take the time and come and find ya'! You don't wanna' do that. So, just come on!"

**

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EstrangeloEdessa: Last minute writing? Me? Why I never! * gasps dramatically *In a sense Claudia is rather extreme. The issue with her is that as she is becoming a Queen she finds herself being pressured from her parents. Being an only child forces her with the responsibility of ruler ship. She's never been a particularly controlling person and so she had to learn how to do it. She always attempted with Adele – who easily defies, with the least bit of concern, Claudia's efforts. After awhile, it began to rub at her. Claudia has become a favorite among many readers. I really think people prefer her to Adele. So, really, it isn't safe for me to remove her character.

**clueless c: There's no such thing as a bad review – because just the thought of you taking your time to review makes me giddy! Isn't Claudia though? I really love how temperamental she can be… Honestly, this whole story (which only takes place over… Gee two days – I think) she must have been on her period. That is my official decision, thanks to your help! ;D But, just out of curiosity, do you prefer Claudia to Adele? I'm really beginning to question whether any of my readers prefer Adele! **


	10. Mental Transportation

**This chapter is huge. I didn't notice it… So… Yeah… Enjoy?**

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The Story Hands

Chapter 9

_It's impossible to keep up with what happens to me anymore. I may as well just forget trying to figure my life out. _

Adele took Peter's hand and found herself pulled upwards. He stood, much shorter than she, with a big grin on his face. "This is the best!" He cried out, turning and preparing to race to his home. "I'll have a friend stay with me and it'll be so fun and -" turning, he narrowed his eyes. "Wait, I never learned your name!"

"It's Adele," she paused wondering whether to formally shake his hand or to just start walking in the direction he seemed to be preparing to go.

"Oh." Peter flicked a strand of his brown hair from his eyes and grinned, "That's a stupid name! It's too girly."

"Well… Considering I'm a girl -"

"I think I'll call you Del, instead. That sounds cool." He paused, wiping some crusty dirt from the top of his filthy shirt. Then, without warning, he took of running towards one of the houses. "Race ya' to my house!"

Shaking her head, Adele pulled up part of her dress and attempted to run after him. She tripped over rocks, slid on grass, and almost fell several times. Breathing hard she gasped after the child, "Wait, slow down! I'm not used to running!" She clutched her hat as the wind threatened to tear it off, while gasping for more air, but never retaining enough.

Ignoring her, Peter only seemed to pick up speed. "Hurry up, you don't wanna' be a slow poke!"

Gasping for breath and clutching her sides as she ran, Adele groaned inward. _Do I really want to stay with this child? I don't think I'll survive it._

Peter finally stopped in front of one of the houses right beside the trees, his eyes gleaming as he examined it. "Pa will be so 'cited when he sees ya'! My Pa loves havin' visitors, ya' know."

Adele appeared at his side, her lungs on fire. She gasped for breath, terrified her lungs would burst. "R…ight…" While scratching her hand, she straightened herself and looked at the house before her in exhaustion. It really was no different from any of the others; nothing special to report at all.

Pushing her hat lower over her eyes she muttered, "Are we going in or what?"

Peter grinned and tugged at the door. He rushed inside, not bothering to pause and hold the door for Adele.

_He's quite the gentleman. _Grasping the door with one of her hands, she slid in.

A cozy living space, furnished in a very homely way appeared before her. Rugs made of animal skins, chairs carved from Sherylwood forest trees, and bugs captured in glass containers that loomed on wooden shelves decorated the room.

Suddenly the idea of being in a stranger's home, especially one brought to her by child, seemed terrifying. Adele felt her body shake slightly. If these people were all like that woman, she could expect a lot of imminent pain. _Maybe I should leave while I still have the chance…_

Peter flung himself from another small room, his brown eyes sparkling. "Pa says he's happy to have ya'!" Adele only nodded, nervous to meet the child's parents. Irritated, Peter jogged to her side and grabbed her arm, "Ya' comin', Del? They all wanna' meet ya'!"

Sighing, she pulled herself free. _I'll enter with more dignity than being dragged in by a child, that's for sure. _"Just calm down kid, I'm coming."

He led her to another room, a kitchen, where a woman hovered over a fire with some pans. She tossed some chopped up meat from the pan and grinned upon seeing Adele. "You must be the reason why my son was late coming home. Glad to meet you!"

Adele narrowed her eyes slightly, _that doesn't make any sense. I don't was the reason he's late. But either way, why would she be happy over such an idea?_

Swallowing her confusion, Adele muttered, "Thank you for allowing me to stay at your home. I plan on finding a place to live tomorrow, so-"

The woman chuckled, "Don't worry, dear. You're no trouble at all! We'll put you to work like the rest of us, and then you can stay as long as you like. That sounds fair enough, right?"

_She is way too friendly. Something isn't right about it. _"Oh, ugh, thank you." She paused, looking around awkwardly, unsure what to say.

"My name is Cinderella; you?" Her whole face shimmered with hospitable kindness, her features aglow with happiness.

"Adele." _I can't believe I forgot to give her my name. I've got to get better at this social stuff. _Determinedly squaring her shoulders, the ex-maid nodded, "I used to work at the castle, but have recently found no reason to stay."

Cinderella chuckled and murmured, "I know they've been removing many of their employees up there. Don't worry about it, dear. For now, we'll provide you with a job in exchange for living space and food. Once you're on your feet, feel free to leave." Pausing, she announced, "In fact, your first job will be tomorrow. All you have to do is watch Peter. Heaven knows that child is always getting into some sort of poppycock."

"Hey!" Peter stormed to his mother's side, growling, "I do not! I do lotsa' smart things too!"

"Do you?" A deep voice bellowed from behind Adele. She flinched slightly, turning to face the newest person. He was a tall man with thick dark hair and a big smile. "I find that hard to believe, son." Turning his attentions to Adele he added, "I'm Rob. Most folk just call me Hood though."

She narrowed her eyes and grinned, "Why would that be, sir? You don't look like a… Hood."

He laughed, "Whenever I work, I always wear a red hood. So, I just picked up the nick name Hood, I suppose." Adele saw now the red cape that soared out behind him. She could see that it could be pulled up, creating a hood, to sheild his eyes.

"…Okay… That's a suitable explanation, I guess." She yawned, suddenly, feeling her eyes begin to droop.

Hood watched her intently for a moment, then, turning to his wife, murmured, "Why don't we allow our guest to sleep. She can eat later."

Cinderella, blue eyes full of understanding, walked to Adele's side and clasped a hand on her shoulder. "Come along, dear. We have a nice and peaceful guest room you may stay in."

She guided her down a tiny hall and into an even tinier room. It smelled of the thick insidious trees of the Sherylwood forest; this same forest could be seen through the glass window.

Nodding her head, Adele smiled, "Thanks so much."

"Just go to sleep, dear." Cinderella turned and swept out of the room without another word.

Adele felt at peace for the first time since the morning before. She scratched her hand thoughtfully, then paused and looked down at her raw palms. They were bright red and covered in scratch marks. _That can't be good. _Trying to suppress the urge to continue scratching, Adele spotted a looking glass which she hurried to.

She peered in at it, examining her disguise. The hat had done enough of a trick to cover her eyes and make them appear a very dark brown. _Maybe I'm wrong! Maybe my eyes aren't violet… Maybe they changed back and all will be well! _She leaned closer to the looking glass, slowly removing the large feathered hat.

Violet eyes stared back.

_Or maybe everything Felicity and Modrain said is true. Maybe Raydolia is in danger… And that tribe was real… _She looked away from the glass, biting her lip so hard that scarlet drops oozed out, _no… No! It cannot be true! They are liars! Besides… I-I need to focus on my work and… And stuff. Important stuff that has to do with realistic things and… Yeah. _

Exhaustion seeped into her bewildered mind as she slid over to her bed. Adele slowly lowered herself on it, and without blowing out the candle or climbing under the covers, she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

The twittering of birds awoke the violet-eyed quirk from her sleep. She slowly lifted herself off of her bed and blinked herself awake. Someone had entered the room, blown out the candle, and placed a blanket over her. Adele stroked it thoughtfully as she considered the day. _All I have to do is watch Peter. That's the easiest assignment I've ever had._

She stood, feeling a slight ache in her back, and headed to her small sack of items. Inside, she found one of her dresses and made the swap from the filthy one she was wearing.

Adele then made her way to the looking glass and peered in. Violet eyes, again, returned her gaze. Sighing, she took up her feathered hat and pulled it low over her face.

With a safe shadow cast over her eyes, Adele exited the room. She hurried down the small hall until reaching the Kitchen again. Scratching her hands, the young teenager felt a ravenous hunger boil through her stomach at the smell of the room.

Cinderella, accompanied by delicious side affects of food sizzling on a pan, chimed a bright and happy morning greeting. With a sweeping curtsey she asked, "Hello dear. How did you sleep?"

Something about the extreme kindness this woman always expressed made Adele feel on edge. Cautiously she murmured, "Very well."

Scratching her hands a bit harder, she eyed several completed plates of food. Eggs, bread, and fruit crowned the wooden plates. The whole room oozed of the intoxicating smell they produced, and Adele was sure she would start drooling over the food.

Cinderella, always one to recognize other people's wants, picked up one of the plates and scurried towards the small round table. Placing the food in front of one of the chairs, she turned, "Well, this food won't eat itself. Come and have a seat. Peter and Hood'll be up soon, I'm sure."

Breakfast was fast and soon Adele found herself outside and in charge of her new duty. Her stomach, full to the brim, hurt a little as Peter raced around on the grass. Moving around so much after eating turned out to be rather painful.

Clutching her stomach, and trying to continue her resolution of not scratching her hands, Adele muttered, "So… What do you do all day, exactly?"

"Well…" Peter had an excited look on his face, "Usually I have studies to do… But the teacher got herself a baby – so we kids don't have no one to give us lessons. Now I get to play all day!"

"Gee, that's great." Adele paused, reaching her hand up to tap her cheek, "Do you think we could go out to the grass field over there? I'd like to sit down and think more about that play."

"But… Why over there?" Peter was looking rather irritated as he added, "What's the difference from over there and right here?"

"I don't know. It's just pretty over there…" _And this way I can view the townspeople from there. A better understanding of them will give me more success in this town. Or, at least, I hope so._

"Girls are really stupid, I hope you know." With those words out, Peter launched off towards the grassy field. He held his arms out and flapped them up and down, mimicking wings. "Faith, trust, and pixie dust!" His voice rang in the morning loudly.

Adele followed the child and sat beside him. It wasn't long before all of the other children, some she hadn't seen before, reappeared in the fields. They raced around playing tag, gasping for breath, and shouting. Adele allowed her gaze to wander to the distant people, hoping to eavesdrop on some conversations. _Perhaps doing that will help me understand their minds more._

Several older children appeared a bit after, their voices full of mockery for the younger ones. They joined in on the games and easily beat the small children at them all.

One older boy, appearing to be around fourteen, joined the group just as a form of tag began being played. This boy was crowned the undesirable spot of 'it' and almost immediately set his sights on Peter for capture. His legs gave him an easy ability to capture the child; with large strides did he pursue him.

"Hah!" His voice rang as he managed to swipe at Peter's shoulder.

"Doesn't count," Peter called, refusing to relent, as he raced away.

Annoyed, the older boy broke into a run, "Does to count! I gotcha'!"

"Nope! You'll have to catch me again." Peter tried to create a larger gap in between his self and the other, but the older boy was easily gaining ground.

Now moved to anger, the boy shouted, "Does it count _now_, you little cheater!" He sprang forward and slammed the younger boy to the ground.

Peter, indignant at being caught and being pulled down with such ease, growled, "Get off of me, stupid! Why are you and your friends even playing? You always play unfair-"

"Say that again?" The older child grabbed Peter's shoulders and jerked him up and down several times. Gritting his teeth, he growled, "You think you can handle me, don't you? I'll beat you up if you say anything else!"

Adele, unsure of how to handle such treatment, called, "Stop doing that, kid! Leave him alone!"

Peter began struggling, shaking his arms and yelling in frustration. The older boy responded with screams of annoyance, saying things like, "Stupid boy!", "You're way too weak to get away", and, "I'm gonna' knock you out if you don't stop being so foolish!"

Frightened by this treatment, Adele leapt up and hurried over. By now the other children had stopped playing, their eyes wide in excitement. It was rather disturbing to see how fights captured the children's minds.

"Stop it! I told you to stop! How dare you not listen to me?" Leaning down, Adele tried to tug the older boy off, but the younger teen spun around and slammed a fist into her stomach. Adele groaned, falling backwards and gasping in pain. She had never been hit, and therefore had never anticipated such pain.

"Stay out of it, woman!" With a sudden violence, the older child turned back to his prey. He pulled up his fist again, this time making it connect with Peter's face. Over and over, he bashed it into the child – Peter didn't make a sound. His body slightly shaking as blood began to ooze out of appearing wounds.

Over and over, did Peter's face and body get crushhed by the brutal fists of the older boy. Peter gasped for air, barely receiving it. Blood drippled off of his face, which was becoming miscolored with bruises, and onto the grass. His hands shook, but could not stop the attack.

Adele felt a strange fury rise up inside of her. She lunged forward, suddenly, and tried to grab Peter's aggressor from atop him. Her hands tightened on the child's shoulders – her voice growled, "I order you to stop!"

The boy turned around, his eyes full of violence, hissing, "How dare you touch me! I'm gonna' put you in your place, you'll see!" He lunged forward, preparing his fist. Without thinking, Adele reached her hands out blindly in front of her, panicking slightly, and pressed them forward.

They connected with her aggressor's eyes and suddenly the child gasped. Adele felt a sudden chill as everything around her turned entirely black. Everything that had once been around her, reality as some would say, had completely vanished. Instead, just black.

Adele gasped, longing for the brightness that a candle produced. Instantly, she saw, in her hand, a candle appear out of thin air.

_How the heck did that happen…? How the heck did _any _of this happen?_

Hoping the light would grow brighter, and finding that it did, she looked up and saw the violent child before her. His eyes, no longer wrathful, but fearful, were staring at her in bewilderment.

"What did you do to me?" He whispered softly.

Confused, but still furious at the child, Adele forced a casual response, "I punished you. You didn't listen, so here you are."

"Where are we? How do I get home?" The boy's voice rose to a terrified scream as he looked around frantically.

Adele paused, recalling how the trick with the candle had worked. _I thought of it and it appeared. So… Maybe I could think of something else and it will appear. _

She focused her thoughts, nervously, upon the castle; Claudia's bedroom in particular. A slight pang of sadness seared through her as Adele saw the whole bedroom appear just as she remembered it. Both she and the boy seemed to have been transported to the place, and both were equally terrified at this truth.

"Take me home, take me home!" The violent boy now seemed broken into tears as his ululation filled the bizarre surroundings. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just wanna' go home – I wanna' be safe!"

Adele shrugged, striving to retain an air of casualness, "This is your own fault." Nervously eyeing everything around her, she felt a slight creeping fear chill her. _How _do _we get home? I don't even know how we're _here_!_

**

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EstrangeloEdessa: TPOO is not on my update list quite yet. I'm not feeling particularly inspired to race back to China… Yet. Anyways, try to enjoy TSH attention receiving, K'? I'm glad you like the little kids. I figured you would appreciate how they acted. The boys wanting to fight; the girls wanting romance. I'm enjoying fiddling with human nature a bit! ;D Leave it to you to know how Peter Pan actually came about. But, I don't really care. I'm not preparing to do any research for

_**this **_**story. I think that's why I'm so inspired to write it right now. It is sort of her first job, isn't it? Smile. My little Adele's growing up. *wipes tear from eye***

**clueless c: I loved your review! It was so funny and sweet! Peter Pan is a really cute story, isn't it? I'm so glad you understand my foolish humor. "Faith, trust, and butterfly wings" forever man! Yeah! I'm glad you noticed the Sherylwood Forest. Promise to highlight that a bit later. Yes, yes, I know, I'm going to put in romance. I've already set up a faint plot in my head for that… It should have already taken place, but, somehow, Adele didn't end up where I expected. I promise, something will come! Thanks for the review, it was great! ;D**

**Iliana 11: Thanks for the review! I understand, though. Being a senior, you probably have a lot more things to do besides read FF stories. But I am really grateful for your review… **_**Finally. **_**;D Yeah, EstrangeloEdessa told me that Peter Pan actually had a **_**known**_** author. That was frustrating… But, I don't really care too much. You see, I plan on warping the plot a little. Think of it like a mini FF… So, I'm saying Adele was the first with the idea – and what's his name became famous for it. Sorry if that bothered you. It bothers me, but I really don't feel like doing research for two of my stories. TPOO is enough time on my hands. Thanks for your review! ;D**

**Backroads: You have some of the kindest reviews ever. They always make me smile and feel all fuzzy on the inside. ****I knew you would be really depressed over the split, but fear not! Claudia is far from being gone! She's almost a main character – you know. I'm glad you commented on the emotion. I wasn't sure if I was handling Adele's feeling properly. So, the question is, do you think Claudia is going to come back for Adele? Or will Adele return to the castle and beg for forgiveness? **


	11. Wounded Boy

The Story Hands

Chapter 10

_Well… Now that we're here, how do we leave?_

Adele scratched her hand nervously, feeling the weight of the situation fully crash down upon her. She hardly knew how she and the boy were here, let alone how to return.

The boy, eyes filled with misery, whimpered, "Please, please, I learned my lesson! Let me go home!"

Adele paused, trying her best to retain her charade, "Perhaps. But you have done a horrible thing-" her eyes examined Claudia's bedroom. She felt a sickening sadness rip through her, and suddenly it was as though she was being tormented in the depths of hell. _I cannot possibly see my friend's room. Not after what's happened. I need to leave this place!_

She allowed her thoughts to wander back to the grassy field near Sherylwood forest, and then found herself among the gently blowing grass again. No children frolicked, and no blood contaminated the scenery. _Something's wrong._

"This isn't right," the boy wailed, wiping his eyes in fear, "This isn't what it looked like! Why isn't anyone around?"

"Ugh…" Adele wracked her brain for anything that might help, and her mind did realize a certain idea. _Modrain took me away from that mountain place – if this is anything like that situation, than I need to touch that boy's eyes again. _Nervously crossing her fingers, Adele approached the boy, her voice never giving hint to the nervous turmoil within her mind. "Come here if you wish to leave."

He proved to be an obedient child, for he was quick to approach. "You're not going to hurt me, are you?" His voice quivered as he watched Adele as though she was a monster.

"No." Adele paused, as she examined the child. Even if she ended up getting him out of the place, she had a sneaking suspicion he would tell everyone in the town… _I'd end up imprisoned like Felicity!_ In the fake confident manner she held with the child, she announced,"I won't hurt you… In fact, I promise I won't… _as long as _you tell no one of this encounter. I gave you a lesson to help you understand the errors of your way, the evils of your behavior." Taking in a deep breath, in order to add a poignant air to her following words, she boomed, "If you dare to speak of this to anyone, I will return to you. Only this time, I will trap you in this world for all of eternity."

Terrified into submission, the boy only managed a nod.

Lifting her hands, and pleading that her idea worked, Adele walked forward, in a very calm manner, and pressed them against his forehead. She decidedly focused all attentions on the real world – especially the grassy field where Peter would be lying.

Everything became a blinding light. At one point, Adele thought she heard pig-tail girl saying something about insanity. She was sure she heard other voices, too. Focusing her attention to these voices and imagining Peter's crippled body, she slowly began to recognize the trees and grass of the field. But this time, children hovered in a circle. The center of this circle was a mutilated child, a boy who moaned every now and then.

The violent young teenager glanced around frantically, seemed to see Adele in a new light, and muttered, "I'm leaving before anything worse happens to me." Turning, he raced away. Several of the older kids followed, leaving the same peace that was brought by people who understood and were in good spirits with each other – meaning all of the younger children.

It was the pig-tailed girl who spoke. Her voice was fearful and frantic, "Wh-why were you both running around and shouting things at each other?"

Adele, not able to fathom what the child meant, only shook her head. "I don't understand. Who do you speak of?"

"You and Tommy." She paused, and in order to make the statement more emphatic, added, "That boy that hurt Peter. You were running around screaming; Tommy was almost in tears. What was wrong?"

"I-I don't know." Shaken by the idea that she was visibly still around the children, but even more shaken by the moans that the little boy was making, Adele muttered, "I do know we need to help Peter, and fast! Do you know anyone that can help?"

Pig-tail girl's eyes lightened as she took charge, "Just pick him up and follow me. My brother is very good at handling gory, yucky stuff like this." Wincing as Adele retrieved the bloodied wreck of a boy, she muttered, "Yup that sure is nasty. Poor Peter…"

Blood stained the sleeves on Adele's dress a shiny scarlet color. Dirt that had mingled and clung to the reddened skin began to rub off all over Adele's clothes.

The young ex-maid found herself having trouble carrying the child, for every time her grip slipped slightly he would moan in pain. "Calm down Peter. Think of something good." She heaved him into a better position to hold him, placing one hand under his back and the other under his legs. With a grunt, she began to follow pig-tail girl. Every step she took disturbed the child, causing him to bounce slightly, while making a disturbing groan.

Peter's lips, brutally mutilated, slowly formed words, "Please… Help… Me…"

"I am helping you. Well, we're going to find someone who'll help, anyways." Looking down at the wreck of a child, Adele bit her lips. _The poor boy… how did Tommy manage to injure him so badly?_

"No… help me… finish the play… I mean…" He coughed – causing scarlet drops to splatter from his mouth and onto Adele's cheeks – so violently that his whole body shook and Adele almost lost her grip on his back. "We can… Finish it… together… right?"

"Why would you think of that _now?"_ Adele gasped in exasperation, but quickly covered her annoyance with a fearful submission. "Alright, alright, we'll finish it. Right now, if that's what you want."

Peter only slightly moved his chin up and down, his blackened eyes closing as he winced slightly.

Determined to distract his mind, Adele's voice began, first, with a question. "What's the name of that girl who always wears the pig-tails?"

"Wendy…"

"Alright, Wendy, it is. We'll have Wendy be the girl who's taken to be mother of the island. She'll be forced into doing all sorts of work for the Lost Boys and -" Adele stopped herself from crying out as she saw Peter's chest stop moving up and down. She placed her hand near the area of his heart and whispered, "Oh, no, don't do this! Peter, keep breathing, please!"

Pig-tailed girl had led them to a small house, located near the center of the town. They had passed several people along the way, all of which stared in nervous horror at the child.

Wendy carefully pulled open the door, her childish voice calling, "James…? James, I need your help! Please come quickly!"

A man, around his mid-twenties, appeared at the doorway. "What is it?"

Adele hardly noticed his appearance; all of her attention was captured by Peter. She quietly whispered, "I don't know what's wrong with him… You-you can help... right?" She heard the tremor in her voice, but found pride in her usual confident behavior to be pointless at the moment. Instead, Adele passed the child along to James.

The young man carefully took him from her arms, his eyes already assessing the situation. "Well, I certainly will try." He paused, glancing at Wendy, "Go and get Agnes immediately. We need her."

Wendy launched off, her tiny feet slamming into the ground as she darted away. Her pig-tails bounced up and down while she called, "I'll get her as fast as I can!"

**

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**

I decided that, instead of a longer chapter, I'd give you all a faster update. Nice cliffie, don't you think?

**So, maybe you noticed that I changed the rating. I was in the middle of writing this chapter and suddenly noticed how violent and gory it was. I was surprised at myself for writing something so… Bleah… But, anyways, I have now put up a T, just to be safe.**

**Iliana 11: I am surprised at how fast you reviewed! I'm not used to it, but hey, that's actually pretty cool of you. Regaining your sanity? Even if it is a slow procedure, how dare you? I rely on that craziness of yours! How dare you regain your sanity? ;D I'm glad you are no longer confused. In my profile I have a brief description of each of my works here on FF. In TSH's, I explained that this fairy tale is basically the **_**origin **_**of all fairy tales. I could hardly care if they have known authors or not. ;D But, err, actually… Rob and Hood are the same person. You said Hood was the sister, but no. Rob goes around wearing a red hood, and everyone calls him Hood. This way, I refer to not just **_**one **_**fairy tale, but **_**two. **_**I know! I loved writing the kids! It was first nature… Hmm… I wonder why? I hope this update was to your standards! ;D**


	12. To Help Heal

The Story Hands

Chapter 11

_Poor Peter. I hope he'll be okay. It doesn't make sense for another child to injure him so badly!_

The young man, of whom Wendy had mentioned, had already taken the little boy into his house. He neither motioned for Adele to follow, nor did he invite her in.

Irritated by his lack of social skills, Adele muttered under her breath, "Yes, thanks, sir. I'll be glad to come inside." She did drop her bad mood after deciding that Peter needed someone's help, and she knew she wouldn't do the job properly.

His house was small, quaint, and much like any other unimpressive peasant home. There were several rooms, not many – and not very big, that inhabited the tiny structure. The walls ascended and gave way to the ceiling only several feet above Adele's head (a sad fact, for she wasn't the tallest around) and were lined with poorly constructed wood. Furniture crowded the main room – all made of trees that had thrived in the Sherylwood forest.

But, unwilling to focus too intently on examining the room, the orphan turned her violet eyes towards James. The young man had calmly set Peter down onto a small kitchen table.

_He uses a kitchen table to work on? How very reassuring for poor Peter. But, either way, it's better than nothing._

Attempting to force amiable qualities unto her self, Adele approached, her eyes never straying from the boy in her care. "He was injured by another child. I'm sure that you know how to fix him?" She kept her voice in a gentle, and hopefully, kind tone.

"Don't worry, ma'am. I'll fix him up."

_Soft spoken. _Narrowing her eyes, and turning to face this man, Adele continued, "How long have you been fixing people, exactly?"

James shrugged; content to not speak. He pushed a strand of common, and not to mention rather dirtied, brown hair from his face. He then bent down, carefully stripping Peter's clothes.

Having never experienced an ounce of medical knowledge, Adele gasped in disgust. "What _are _you doing to the poor boy?"

Again, James ignored her. Instead, his voice was full of diligence that only determination could bring. "Do you know where to find any bread?"

"_You _haven't answered _my _question." Crossing her arms, in an extremely undignified manner, she continued, "So, I should not worry about yours." _Besides, if you're hungry, feed yourself!_

Sighing, but suppressing his rage, James strode past her. He hurried to the kitchen, in which Adele heard much impatient mutterings, until the young man reappeared with a small slice of bread. He had a frown stretched across his countenance, as he muttered, "Alright, I found some bread, hopefully it's enough. Now, if you don't mind, find me some milk."

Adele laughed bitterly, her eyes flicking to Peter. "I want you to help the boy! Are you so cruel as to refuse help unless you are paid in food?"

James ran a hand through his hair, dark brown eyes flashing in impatience. "You have issues. Number one, you won't listen to my instructions – which could save this boy. Number two, you obviously don't _even _appear to want to save this boy -"

"Untrue!" Adele's voice rose in a howling protest, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "You, sir, have no honor – accusing me, a lady, of such a thing. Of course I want to save Peter!"

Sighing, and grumbling (not the best of words) under his breath, James turned towards the brown-haired girl. "If you want to save this boy then you need to get me milk, _right _now."

Adele paused, her pride demanding she refuse; her concern demanding she find the substance of which he demanded. It only took several seconds before pride gave way to concern and Adele marched out the door.

The moment she stepped from the house, the old woman – who Adele had encountered on the streets only the prior day – appeared at the doorway. Wendy, in tow behind the woman, was whimpering, "He looks really bad, Agnes!"

Their eyes locked for a moment, within that moment disgust and hate passed from one gaze to the next. It was the equal concern for Peter's well-being that sent both women sliding past each other, no words exchanged.

Adele had to plead and beg for milk. People seemed unwilling to give away anything, and so, she finally settled for trading her shoes for a jar. She knew it had taken longer than hoped, but raced back to the where Peter lay, pleading silently that it wasn't too late.

She burst into the room, holding the jar and examining the happenings. Peter's clothes had been fully stripped. Agnes had a handful of moist moss that she pressed down unto the child's wounds. Her voice muttered irritated comments. "Where is that girl? We need that milk now."

James sighed, not responding, but appearing equally frustrated. He wiped his hands on his legs and continued shredding the bread in an iron pan.

"Here you are." Adele had walked across the room, refusing to look either of the grumpy inhabitants in the eye. She handed the small jar to James, adding, in an uncharacteristically soft voice, "He still okay?"

There was no response, though she soon forgot to expect one.

Instead, she watched as James took the milk and poured it into the iron pot. A fire, Adele hadn't noticed that they had made one, flickered in a nearby dirt spot. Carefully placing the pot over the fire, James waited. He tapped his foot in impatience, glancing nervously towards Peter every now and again.

It was several moments after that the bold young man actually reached his hand into the steaming pot, wincing at pain from the heat, and stirred slightly. He then dashed to Peter's side, withdrawing some more of the oozing substance.

"I'll take over from here," he muttered softly to Agnes, while casting a quick glance back to Adele. "Find a way to get _her _out of here."

Agnes turned, and in the least hidden manner, growled, "Alright, you've worn out your welcome. Get out of this house. Now."

Clenching her fists and tightening her jaw, Adele shook her head in the utmost defiance. "I'm not leaving! As long as Peter is here, you two will have to suck it up and deal with me."

"You may as well add a stuck out nose," Agnes growled, "seeing that you are being extremely childish and bratty. In order to fully heal the boy, we need concentration."

"Well," Adele's teeth gritted tightly together, creating a searing pain that spread from her jaw into her cheek bones. Wincing, she muttered, "I won't speak anymore."

"I don't care if you speak or not." Agnes strode to Adele, locked her hand around the younger girl's wrists, and began to drag her towards the door. "As long as you're outside, we won't hear you."

Adele fought the grip, but found that the woman was far stronger than expected. _Or maybe I'm just weaker. I haven't slept well in a while, and I certainly haven't had a decent meal for what seems like ages._

She was flung outside of the door, with a large slam, and left to stand. Clenching her fists, and preparing to pound, Adele cried out, "Let me in! Peter needs me in there!"

No response.

Turning, in a rather indignant manner, Adele caught sight of Wendy talking to several of the children in the distant fields. Scratching her hands in irritation, she did feel slightly less annoyed. _I suppose I'm not the only one who was removed from that room… But… Then again, she's just a child! _I'm _an adult; and they should treat me as one._

It was then that a voice whispered, breath slightly stirring the hair behind Adele's ear, "It is time."

Jerking herself to face whoever had just spoken, Adele hissed, "Look, I don't know what sort of prank you're planning on pulling, but-"

No one stood behind her.

She circled the grounds around her for several moments, eyes narrowed in fear. Though, of course, her pride would never allow her to admit to such an idea. Shaking her head wearily, Adele clutched her forehead. _I didn't make it up. I know what I heard… _Sighing, she reconsidered her determined thoughts. _Then again, I've had a lot happen to me lately. Maybe, out of pure exhaustion, I did hear it. It certainly isn't the weirdest thing that's happened to me._

She recalled the moment where she, along with Tommy, had been dragged into a world that… she could control. "Maybe none of this is real. Maybe this is all a dream… or a nightmare."

"Listen well… in order to return, you must place your hands on your eyes. Hurry along, we have a schedule to keep."

Adele froze, again twirling around. Her eyes narrowed into irritated slits as she gasped, "Where are you coming from? Who are you?" _So, it's not made up. _That fact was hardly startling, considering the events of the past several days.

A voice seemed to sigh from nowhere. "Do you not remember? In two days time, I said I would come for you. It is time for your training to begin. You must save your country."

Adele snorted, feeling pain rush to her tired mind. "You're lying," she addressed nothing in particular as she continued; "I can't even take care of a boy. You think I can save all of Raydolia? You're a fool."

"You lack faith in yourself." Again, another sigh filled her mind. "We will work on that. But, for now, you must come with me. Place your hands on your eyes."

Defiant, Adele dropped to the ground, intertwining her legs and staring at the wall before her. "Good-bye, Modrain… or whoever you are."

The voice echoed persistence, refusing to let her be. Adele could hardly worry for Peter, or focus on anything except the incessant pestering.

Feeling tiredness drain her resistance, Adele finally gave way. "Alright, alright. You want me to play hero? I'll do it." Irritably, she tugged her arms from her lap and dramatically slapped her hands over her eyes.

Nothing happened.

"Okay… Now that you've achieved my appearance of a fool, do you plan on getting me there?"

The voice, amused, spoke again, "You must do that yourself. I am only the reminder for you to arrive."

"What?" Adele growled, though she didn't move her palms from her eyes, "Isn't it enough that I'm doing this?"

"We have no direct link to you. In fact, you are the link from our dimension and yours. So hurry along and get there already."

Adele impatiently gritted her teeth, feeling a familiar ounce of pain return to her jaw. "What do I do? At least show me how to do this?"

"Think of The Story Hand tribe."

Squeezing her eye-lids tighter together, and pressing her hands further into her face, Adele allowed her mind to roam.

_Come on, stupid Story Hand Tribe… Just appear already!_

**

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**

Iliana 11: I'm tinkled pink by your consistency in reviewing.

**Lord of the Flies is a good book, and I'm proud that my story made you think of that. Anywho, I imagine that you would find interest in the concoction James created, no? It's an old medical remedy people used to use to reduce blood from spilling out… if you're curious! I can't believe I forgot to mention Adele's age! She's seventeen… And, I promise to insert that bit of information in here somewhere… Thanks for reviewing so early!**

**EstrangeloEdessa: You think the hand scratching is an important plot point? Hmm… I wonder…. Adele's nature leads her to naturally distrust people. I'm trying to create specific personality traits… Though, her lack of trust could be for a reason… Murderous as always, hmm? Tommy may die, but he may not. I had a feeling you'd enjoy Peter! ;D Thanks for the review, friend!**

**Backroads: I note that your reviews were a tad less enthusiastic than usual. Did you find this chapter more to your lickings? Yes, it is rather important to pay attention to Adele's new found abilities. The story centers around them! So, do you believe Peter will die?**


	13. The Training Begins

**It's been awhile. Okay, real quick recap. Peter (the little boy that gave Adele a place to stay) was injured by a bully that Adele accidentally brought to somewhere with her hand powers. She brought him back and had to bring Peter to someone who could help his wounds. This turns out to be the grumpy and antisocial Agnes and James. They shove her outside, and while sitting alone, Modrain (the man from the Story Hand Tribe) calls to her. He says that her training must begin. **

**Sorry about poor quality. Why do I say I have betas?**

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The Story Hands

Chapter 13

_I wasn't exactly happy at the idea of, again, meeting with the tribe. They were so… gross._

Adele pulled her palms off of her eyes and glanced around. Again, she stood surrounded by the bizarre mud buildings. She examined, in not much changed disgust, the half-naked citizens occupying The Story Hands Tribe.

Modrain stood - watching her - from a distance. His large graying beard dangled and waved back and forth as he approached the peasant girl.

"I am glad you have returned. We have much work to do."

Adele frowned, glancing around irritably. "What? No hello?"

Ignoring her, Modrain spoke again. "Today's training will be very easy. A couple of exercises and you shall return home. Understand?"

"Of course. I'm not stupid." Right after speaking that statement, Adele bit her lip. It wasn't really that she hated the man - she was just having a bad day. Her mind was still occupied with Peter's pain - imagining the bully beating into him.

Scratching her hands, Adele couldn't help but worry about the situation. _It was my first day on a job in the village. All I had to do was keep him safe! And I messed up… Who knows how hurt he is…_

"Here is what you must do," Modrain rasped, "I will tell you of a place to imagine. You will transport both myself and yourself to this place."

Shrugging, the teenager muttered, "Fine. Of course. Can we please just hurry up? I was sort of busy when you called."

Still ignoring her irritation, Modrain continued, "The first place you will take me is… An old cottage. I will allow you, this time, to make up the details."

"But how do I make up details? What am I supposed to do? I can't exactly visit a place I haven't seen!"

"Yes you can. This is where you may get creative." Frowning, the old man closed his eyes. "Perhaps the cottage is dusty, old, and alone. It's empty and creates an unsettling feeling… Or maybe it is an old cottage occupied by a large family. Though it's loud and cramped, much love has been poured into the place. You can even imagine something creepy - such as an old cottage that smells of death." Opening his eyes, he quickly added, "I don't expect you to have mastered smells or anything of that sort yet. I wish for you to only work on visuals. That will be hard enough."

Having been drawn in by Modrain's brief description of cottages, Adele nodded, slightly wanting to apply herself. _If I have this power, I may as well learn how to use it._

"Okay - alright… So, you want me to take you there as well? Right?""Of course."

Leaning forward, Adele awkwardly pressed her palms against Modrain's eyes. She closed her own, silently imagining an old cottage. She didn't dream up the inside, but instead imagined being out front. Using his examples, she dreamt of flowers and a thick garden. Deer and rabbits peacefully gnawed at the little cottage's vegetation. Adele formulated a river that ran out front of the garden, and a beautifully undisturbed stone bridge arching over it.

Modrain appeared beside her, glancing around. He was rather laconic in response. "The building is too small."

Adele narrowed her eyes, facing him. "Excuse me? Isn't this _my _imagination - or, er, imagined place? I think I reserve the right to decide whether the building is large or not."

The old man sighed, "That is not what I meant." Quietly, he walked across the stone bridge. Within moments he arrived at the front door of the rural building. The only problem was that the top of the door reached the height of his shoulders. Turning, the man continued, "Do you see? This isn't fit for me."

Embarrassed, but determined to hide her mistake, Adele growled, "Perhaps the cottage wasn't intended for you."

"Oh? And who was this little building made for?" Amusement and annoyance blended, and the man's eyes twinkled as he awaited a response.

"Why… Dwarves - of course. That's who lives there. You may even check in the attic, if you please. There will be… seven little beds… For seven little dwarves."

Modrain bowed, his countenance revealing his lack of belief. "If that is your intention, then I shall say no more. And, besides, you seem to understand how to transport us. In fact, you're rather good with details. So my next request is not yours to dream up."

Shrugging, Adele muttered, "Fine. I assure you I can do it."

"I would like to visit the beach. It's sunset. The sun is casting a reflection over the water… The shore rises in, out, in, out… Boats can be seen bobbing up and down on distant waters-"

"-Umm, Modrain, I have no idea what the beach looks like. I've never been there."

Stroking his beard in delight, the older man merely laughed. "Then base it off of my description. It shouldn't be that hard - after all, you seem to be quite a learned master at this."

Glaring, Adele stormed across the bridge and arrived in front of him. Reaching out her hands she continued the ritualistic behavior. She closed her eyes and tried to dream up the ocean as he described it.

_Okay… So… The ocean is a lot of water. _Vividly, before her eyes, appeared clear water (much like one would see in a glass of water). _The sun is setting. I know what that looks like. _She imagined the vibrant colors spilling outward into the sky. _And the water is reflecting it._ This was harder to imagine - for Adele had lived a sheltered life. She had never been around a large enough body of water to see what a proper reflection looked like. She merely imagined a second sun in the water. _And boats are out. Except… What does a boat look like? They're made of wood… and cloth for sails. _Large tree trunks dotted the bizarre oceanic scene. Resting on them, much like a blanket to a bed, were sails.

Modrain materialized by her side, as she proudly surveyed the contents of her imagination. She smiled broadly, with not a little bit of arrogance, "Well - what do you think?"

The older man was looking highly exasperated. "Why are there two suns? And trees in the water?"

Adele frowned, "I told you I didn't know what it looked like. And, anyways, you should be proud that I dreamt this up. It wasn't easy."

"This looks ridiculous.""Well… Who said anything I make has to be realistic? I did what you said."

"For what you are going to be using it for - yeah, it has to be normal." Obviously disgusted with her, Modrain turned away from the creation. To their backs was an unimaginative wall of blackness. "And I suppose we'll have to work on this, too. You need to create visuals for every direction."

"Would you quit being so demanding? Just be happy I did this!" Secretly, Adele's pride had yet again been wounded by this man. She had thought her attempt was good. "Anyways, I'm getting tired of you. Can this lesson just be over with?"

Sighing, the older man nodded. "You'll need to pay me daily visits in exchange for lessons this short, though."

"Sure, fine, whatever…" Already, Adele felt her mind being pulled back to reality. _Oh, poor Peter. I hope he's alright… I wish I were with him._

She only faintly heard Modrain calmly speaking. "You may take me home now."

After imagining Modrain's village, Adele was taught of a quick trick. Say she wanted to be alone in this world, the way out was to touch her eyes and dream of the real world.

Applying this new knowledge, Adele closed her own eyes, while pointedly forgetting to say good-bye to the older man, and dreamt of the little village. The dusty browns, the exhausted faces, the door that had been slammed in her face before she had left…

A blinding light and - poof! She had arrived again. Opening her eyes, Adele found herself face to face with James.

His brown eyes stared at her, with both disgust and a newly acquired amount of fear. His voice was low and it trembled slightly. "What were you doing just then?" Almost nervously, he added, "Can you even hear me now?"

Still recalling his want to shove her out of the cottage, Adele coldly replied, "Why wouldn't I be able to hear you? Do you think I'm some sort of freak?"

"Well - after seeing you running around in circles, talking to yourself about oceans, I wouldn't remove that option." Swallowing his irritation the best he could, he added, "I don't want any weirdo's hanging around with Peter."

"I can assure you," Adele pulled closer to his face, furious that this man would _dare _say such rude comments to her, "that I am no weirdo - as you so eloquently put it."

James backed away, not so much from fear, rather contempt at being near her. "Fine, whatever. If you say so. I'm sure you'd rather suggest that _I _imagined seeing you talking to yourself in the middle of an empty street. Right?"

Shoving herself past him, and heading for the door, Adele nodded, "You better believe it."

James only shook his head and followed her to the door. "That made no sense at all."

Ignoring him, Adele entered the cottage. She hurried to where Peter still lay upon the table, and examined him. His wounds were covered in some sort of brown gunk, _probably to stop the bleeding, _and his clothes covered his body once more. The little boy drew shaky breaths here and there, but besides that, no other signs of life were evident.

"Well," Adele glanced from Agnes to James and returned to Peter, "thanks for the help. But I can take it from here." She leaned down, carefully lifting the small child from the counter. He moaned slightly, at being moved, but didn't show signs of too much disturbance.

"Now you wait, you young'n!" Blocking Adele's path, Agnes continued, " I don't want you taking that poor child anywhere. You're obviously an awful guardian."

Pushing by her, Adele muttered in response, "I don't need to put up with you." Her eyes found James's eyes and she added, "Either of you. So just leave me alone. _I _can handle it from here."

With those words, Adele carried Peter from the small building - all the while feeling two sets of eyes glaring at her as she exited.

_And good riddance! _

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**Boom, baby! It's done! I'll be in Camp NaNoWriMo next month, so don't expect any updates from me, okay? But please, I beg, do review! :D**

**Iliana 11: Nah, I don't mind! I'm just glad you reviewed! (And thanks for it!) James? Socially awkward? What **_**are **_**you talking about? Oh yeah - you and Adele are the same age, aren't you? Well… If she existed, and stuff. Heh. I hope you liked her return to The Story Hand Tribe. **

**Backroads: I'm glad you were happy she was so concerned. The way I see it, if I had practically nobody except a little boy who managed to get me a place to stay and a job, I'd be worried too. I made sure the worry carried over. I may bring James back - a little bit later. But, for now, this is about all you'll have of him (if things go as planned).**

**EstrangeloEdessa: Thanks! Hope you like this one, too! **


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